L/BRARY 
OP 


Central  University  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due 
JAN  1  3  1936 


JAN1  2 


Cl  39  (7/93) 


UCSD  Li}. 


31822019442391 


-Y  V 

INSTITUTION 


OF  OCEANOGRAPHY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE    CITIZEN'S    LIBRARY    OP    ECONOMICS,    POLITICS 
AND  SOCIOLOGY— NEW  SERIES 

Edited  by  RICHARD  T.  ELY,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 
Profewor  of  Political  Economy  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin 


THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 


THE  CITIZEN'S  LIBRARY  OF 
ECONOMICS,  POLITICS  AND 
SOCIOLOGY  * 

Edited  by 

RICHARD  T.  ELY,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Political  Economy  in  the  University 
of  Wisconsin 


NEW    SERIES 

THE  PROGRESSIVE  MOVEMENT.  By 
Benjamin  P.  De  Witt,  M.A.,  LL.B. 

THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM.  By  Charles  A. 
Ellwood,  Ph.D. 

THE  WEALTH  AND  INCOME  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  By 
Willford  I.  King,  Ph.D.  In  press. 

AMERICAN  MUNICIPAL  PROGRESS.  By 
Charles  Zueblin.  Revised.  In  press. 


THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 


A  CONSTRUCTIVE  ANALYSIS 


IHKTITUT.OW 
tlOLOGK  Ai.   Rtit-ARCH 


BY 

CHARLES  A.  ELLWOOD,  Ph.  D., 

PROFESSOR  OF  SOCIOLOOT  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  MISSOURI, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  SOCIOLOGY  IN  ITS  PSYCHOLOGICAL 

ASPECTS,"   "SOCIOLOGY  AND  MODERN 

SOCIAL  PROBLEMS,"  ETC. 


fork 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1915 

AU  right*  retencd 


COPYRIGHT,  1915 

BT  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  March,  1915. 


TO   THE   FAR   THINKING   MEN  AND   WOMEN 
OF   THE   TWENTIETH    CENTURY,    WHO 
MUST   SOLVE   THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 


MlOLOv 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

"^HE  purpose  of  this  little  book  is  to  fur- 
nish a  brief  analysis  of  the  social  prob- 
lem in  Western  civilization  and  to  outline  a 
scientific  social  philosophy  which  shall  serve 
as  a  basis  for  a  well-balanced  progress.  The 
present  crisis  in  our  civilization  calls  for  a 
reconstruction  of  our  social  philosophy;  for 
we  cannot  build  anew  the  structure  of  Western 
society  upon  the  inadequate  bases  of  eight- 
eenth and  nineteenth  century  thought.  The 
aim  of  the  book  is  to  indicate  the  direction 
which  our  social  thinking  must  take  if  we  are 
to  avoid  revolution,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
reaction,  on  the  other.  It  aims,  in  other 
words,  to  furnish  a  scientific  basis  for  the 
progressive  social  movement;  and  it  is  com- 
mended to  progressives,  therefore,  in  what- 
ever class,  party  or  sect  they  may  happen 
to  find  themselves.  The  attitude  of  the  book 

will  be  found,  it  is  hoped,  thoroughly  positive 

vii 


PREFATORY   NOTE 

and  constructive  toward  all  the  essential 
values  of  our  civilization.  We  should  have 
learned  by  this  time  that  nothing  permanent 
in  our  social  life  can  be  built  upon  negation. 

It  has  been  thought  best  not  to  burden  the 
text  with  extensive  references  to  authorities 
for  the  generalizations  made.  The  deeper 
scientific  foundations  of  the  book,  however, 
are  to  be  found  in  my  larger  work  on  Sociology 
in  its  Psychological  Aspects,  and  I  would  be 
ungrateful  if  I  did  not  add,  also  in  a  large 
number  of  the  works  of  my  colleagues  in 
scientific  sociology  on  both  sides  of  the  At- 
lantic. It  is  a  particular  pleasure  to  acknowl- 
edge the  helpful  suggestions  and  criticisms 
of  friends  in  Oxford  and  London. 

CHARLES  A.  ELLWOOD. 
OXFORD,  ENGLAND, 

December  8,  1914. 


Vlll 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

PREFATORY  NOTE.  .  vii 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

The  problem  of  our  civilization — Need  of 
the  reconstruction  of  our  social  philosophy — 
Definition  of  the  social  problem — Possibility 
of  its  scientific  solution — Nature  of  social 
unity — Definition  of  civilization — Present  con- 
dition of  Western  civilization — Causes  of 
revolutions — Possibility  of  a  general  reversion 
to  barbarism — Essentially  psychic  or  spiritual 
nature  of  the  social  problem — Conflicting  ideas 
and  ideals  in  our  civilization — No  ground  for 
social  pessimism,  but  a  call  for  social  recon- 
struction    1-47 

CHAPTER  II 

HISTORICAL  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  MODERN  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

The  r6le  of  tradition  in  social  development — 
The  influence  of  the  Hebrew  tradition  in  West- 
ern civilization — The  influence  of  the  Greek 
tradition — The  influence  of  the  Roman  tradi- 
tion— The  influence  of  the  Teutonic  tradi- 
tion— The  influence  of  Christianity — The  at- 
tempted synthesis  of  the  Middle  Ages — The 

ix 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

rise  of  modern  individualism — The  develop- 
ment of  modern  science — The  revolution  in 
industry  and  its  results — The  "critical  move- 
ment "  in  modern  thought — The  rise  of  modern 
.humanitarianism — The  failure  of  the  nine- 
teenth century — Peculiarities  of  American 
social  conditions 48-91 

CHAPTER  III 

PHYSICAL    AND    BIOLOGICAL    ELEMENTS    IN    THE    SOCIAL 
PROBLEM 

The  physical  conditions  of  social  develop- 
ment— The  conservation  of  natural  resources 
— Public  hygiene  and  the  public  health  move- 
ment— The  role  of  heredity  in  human  society 
—The  modern  theory  of  heredity — Eugenics 
as  a  necessary  part  of  practical  sociology — 
Difficulties  of  eugenics — Need  of  a  eugenics 
programme  in  modern  society — Limits  of  eu- 
genic legislation — Power  of  public  opinion  and 
of  personal  ideals — Positive  programme  of 
eugenics — Moral  value  of  rational  eugenics . . .  92-144 

CHAPTER  IV 

ECONOMIC   ELEMENTS  IN  THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

Social  thought  in  Western  civilization  pre- 
dominantly economic — The  element  of  truth 
in  "economic  determinism" — The  need  of  a 
better  industrial  system  than  present  capi- 
talism— The  objections  to  capitalism — It  leads 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

to  the  exploitation  of  labour — Unjust  distribu- 
tion of  wealth  has  resulted  from  present  capi- 
talism— Fostering  of  war  between  classes  and 
nations — Fostering  of  materialism  in  both 
rich  and  poor — The  way  out  of  the  evils  of 
present  capitalism — Scientific  reform  of  taxa- 
tion as  a  means  of  overcoming  the  inequalities 
of  the  present  economic  system — The  objec- 
tions to  such  reform  of  taxation — The  differ- 
ence between  such  a  progressive  economic 
programme  and  socialism 145-188 

CHAPTER  V 

SPIRITUAL  AND  IDEAL  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

The  role  of  ideas  and  ideals  in  social  develop- 
ment— Greater  power  of  the  ideal  element  in 
the  more  complex  stages  of  social  evolution — 
Development  of  negative  ideas  and  ideals  in 
Western  civilization — Need  of  a  revaluation 
of  family  life — Need  of  a  revaluation  of 
government — Need  of  a  revaluation  of  reli- 
gion— Need  of  a  revaluation  of  morality — 
Need  of  a  revaluation  of  Christianity — Need 
of  better  moral  education  and  of  conservation 
of  spiritual  values  in  Western  civilization. . .  .  189-219 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

Solution  of  the  social  problem  within  the 
limits  of  human  knowledge  and  character — 

xi 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

Inadequacy  of  external  machinery — Inade- 
quacy of  one-sided  programmes — Inadequacy 
of  revolutionary  methods — The  central  place 
of  individual  character — The  three  roots  of 
character  and  the  control  of  its  development — 
Solution  of  the  problem  of  the  crime  and  the 
labour  problem  as  illustrating  the  method  for 
the  solution  of  the  social  problem — Types  of 
individual  character  to  be  aimed  at — The  prac- 
tical importance  of  finding  and  training  social 
leaders .  .  220-249 


Ml 


SCRlj-  .  JT1OH 

B1OLOG  :-ARCM 


THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 


THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

A  CONSTRUCTIVE  ANALYSIS 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION  l 

A  N  American  publicist ia  recently  predicted 
that  the  end  of  our  present  social  or- 
der will  come  before  1930.  He  points  out 
that  many  of  the  social  tendencies  of  the 
present  are  strikingly  like  those  which  pre- 
ceded the  French  Revolution.  He  cites  the 
mental  opacity  of  our  ruling  classes  as  in  many 
respects  similar  to  the  stupidity  of  the  old 
French  nobility  when  they  were  faced  by  the 
necessity  of  social  readjustment  in  their  time. 
The  parallel  between  recent  social  unrest  and 

1  A  large  part  of  this  chapter  was  presented  before 
the  Sociological  Society  (London)  in  a  paper  on  "The 
Social  Problem  and  the  Present  War,"  which  was 
published  simultaneously  in  the  Sociological  Review 
and  the  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  January,  1915. 

la  Brooks  Adams,  Theory  of  Social  Revolutions  (1913). 

1 


that  which  preceded  the  storm  of  the  French 
Revolution  would  probably  be  assented  to  by 
nearly  all  students  of  social  history.  Indeed, 
it  requires  no  profound,  scientific  mind  to 
see  the  parallel.  The  blindness  and  ultra- 
conservatism  of  many  in  our  privileged  classes 
on  the  one  hand,  the  fanatic  radicalism  and 
one-sidedness  of  many  of  the  leaders  of  the 
non-privileged  on  the  other,  would  breed 
trouble  in  any  social  order.  Unless  plasticity 
of  mind  and  a  sense  of  social  obligation  can  be 
instilled  into  our  socially  fortunate  classes, 
and  broadminded  and  constructive  views  shall 
dominate  the  leaders  of  our  masses,  Western 
civilization  is,  indeed,  brewing  for  the  world 
something  worse  than  a  French  Revolution. 

The  problem  of  our  civilization  is  something 
more  than  the  mere  threatened  overthrow  of 
existing  political  and  industrial  institutions. 
The  problem  before  us  is  not  how  to  avoid 
political  revolution,  but  rather  how  to  avoid 
the  decay  and  disintegration  of  civilization 
itself.  More  than  one  half  of  the  world  sud- 
denly finds  itself  (1914)  plunged  into  one  of 

2 


INTRODUCTION 

the  most  terrible  wars  of  human  history.  It 
should  be  self-evident  that  there  is  something 
wrong  with  Western  civilization,  or  else  such 
a  war  could  not  have  taken  place. 

Many  writers  have  recently  told  us  that 
our  civilization  is  on  the  wane,  and  many 
things  might  be  cited  in  the  present  Euro- 
pean war  to  show  that  such  a  conclusion 
is  no  mere  expression  of  temperamental 
pessimism.  Indeed,  the  parallel  between  ex- 
isting social  conditions  in  the  Western  world 
and  those  which  we  find  in  the  Rome  of 
the  decadence  is  closer  even  than  the  parallel 
between  our  social  unrest  and  that  of  pre- 
revolutionary  France.  There  was  no  need  of  a 
Ferrero  to  point  this  out.2  All  who  know  any- 
thing at  all  about  the  inner  facts  of  our 
civilization  and  that  of  decadent  Rome  know 
the  disturbing  resemblances.  The  decay  in 
religious  belief,  in  moral  ideals,  in  political 
honour,  the  conflict  of  classes,  the  breakdown 
of  social  regulation  and  control,  the  demand 

J  See  his  Ancient  Rome  and  Modern  America  (1914), 
especially  chapter  IV  of  Part  Two  (pp.  77-78). 

3 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

for  a  strong  man  and  a  centralized  government 
to  enforce  order,  all  of  these  phenomena  of  the 
present  suggest  the  parallel  with  Rome.  The 
very  forces  which  undermined  Roman  civiliza- 
tion, viz.,  commercialism,  individualism,  ma- 
terialistic standards  of  life,  militarism,  a  low 
estimate  of  marriage  and  the  family,  agnos- 
ticism in  religion  and  in  ethics,  seem  to  be  the 
things  which  are  now  prominent,  if  not  domi- 
nant, in  Western  civilization.3 

8  "Western  civilization"  is  used  in  its  customary 
sense,  namely,  the  civilization  of  Europe  and  its  col- 
onies, the  two  Americas  and  Australasia. 

Most  of  the  disintegrating  tendencies  referred  to 
in  the  last  two  sentences  have  appeared  in  menacing 
strength  in  Western  civilization  only  within  compara- 
tively recent  years.  In  the  United  States  at  least  many 
of  them  became  clearly  manifest  only  in  the  nineties, 
or  even  in  the  early  years  of  the  twentieth  century. 
As  is  pointed  out  later,  such  phenomena  may  not  mean 
social  degeneration,  but  only  temporary  social  de- 
terioration— a  rhythm  in  the  social  progress,  such  as 
history  has  often  recorded.  But  the  writer  would 
emphasize  that  these  phenomena,  as  well  as  the  War, 
indicate  that  Western  civilization  has  not  yet  grappled 
successfully  with  the  social  problem. 

4 


INTRODUCTION 

The  present  war  has  come  as  a  shock  to 
those  who  have  not  studied  intimately  the 
foundations  of  nineteenth  century  European 
culture;  but  in  the  writer's  opinion  it  is  not 
an  accident  of  any  sort,  in  diplomacy  or  other- 
wise. Rather  the  war  has  merely  exposed 
the  rottenness  of  some  of  those  foundations 
of  Western  civilization.  We  have  supposed 
that  we  could  rear  a  secure  social  structure 
upon  the  basis  of  an  egoistic  and  materialistic 
social  philosophy.  We  have  permitted  a  re- 
barbarization  of  the  individual's  moral  stand- 
ards without  imagining  that  these  would 
actually  express  themselves  in  the  life  of 
nations.  We  have  thought  that  somehow, 
out  of  a  programme  of  self-interest,  material 
satisfactions,  and  brute  force  followed  by  men 
and  nations,  a  settled  and  harmonious  order 
would  result.  Even  now  there  are  those  who 
fail  to  see  that  the  egoistic,  socially-negative 
doctrines,  which  got  such  a  hold  of  Western 
civilization  in  the  nineteenth  century,  both 
in  theory  and  in  practice,  are  the  sources  of 
present  disorder.  They  look  for  some  more 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

ultimate  sources  in  biologic  or  economic  neces- 
sities. But  those  who  see  clearly  must  per- 
ceive that  while  biologic  and  economic  condi- 
tions may  act  as  stimuli,  the  real  roots  of 
civilization  are  always  in  the  mental  attitudes 
and  conscious  values  of  individuals.  They 
will  also  see  that  some  of  the  mental  attitudes 
and  values  approved  as  sound  by  the  nine- 
teenth century  have  proved  unsound  in  prac- 
tice; and  that  the  present  war  of  nations  calls 
for  a  reconstruction  of  our  social  philosophy— 
a  rebuilding  of  it — on  a  different  basis  from 
that  approved  by  the  nineteenth  century. 

This  may  seem  but  a  partial  view  of  present 
society,  and  the  writer  is  glad  so  to  confess. 
But  there  is  beyond  question  in  Western 
civilization  at  the  present  time  a  mighty  con- 
flict going  on  between  social  philosophies, 
between  ideals  of  life,  between  the  forces  of 
social  disorder  and  dissolution  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  social  reconstruction  and  progress 
on  the  other.  All  other  conflicts  are  but  parts 
of  this  grand  conflict  in  our  civilization.  No 
one,  perhaps,  can  at  the  present  time  foresee 


INTRODUCTION 

the  outcome  of  this  conflict;  but  all  can,  at 
least,  be  intelligently  informed  as  to  its  ex- 
istence and  know  something  of  the  power  of 
forces  arrayed  on  either  side.  We  are  not 
justified  in  thinking  that  the  outcome  will  be 
a  matter  either  of  chance  or  of  fatal  necessity. 
Nations  and  civilizations,  so  far  as  the  his- 
torian and  the  sociologist  can  discover,  do 
not  die  natural  deaths;  their  decadence  and 
extinction  seem  to  be  rather  the  result  of 
wrong  choices,  of  misjudgments,  especially  on 
the  part  of  the  social  elite  who  furnish  the 
leaders  in  the  fields  of  thought  and  action. 
If  then  our  civilization  is  "at  the  cross  roads," 
as  a  recent  English  writer  has  well  said,4  let 
no  one  suppose  that  the  road  which  it  will 
ultimately  take  is  predetermined.  That  will 
be  a  matter  to  be  decided  by  the  amount  of 
social  intelligence  and  character  which  the 
individuals  of  the  present  and  of  the  imme- 
diate future  can  show.  In  proportion,  in 
other  words,  as  we  can  get  an  intelligent  in- 
sight into  the  existing  social  problem  and  an 
4  Figgis,  Civilization  at  the  Cross  Roads. 


intelligent  appreciation  of  the  individual  and 
social  qualities  needed  to  meet  that  problem, 
in  that  proportion  we  may  hope  to  control 
the  destiny  of  our  civilization. 

The  old  world  of  our  forefathers  has  sud- 
denly enlarged  and  burst  its  bounds  within  a 
generation.  The  world  in  which  we  live  may 
justly  be  regarded  as  a  new  world,  transformed 
out  of  the  old  by  the  working  of  forces  yet 
imperfectly  understood.  Many  new  problems 
have  suddenly  come  upon  us,  due  to  the  in- 
crease of  population,  the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge, the  intermingling  of  races  and  cultures, 
the  increasing  interdependence  of  nations,  the 
invention  of  new  machines,  and  other  new 
developments  in  industry,  politics  and  religion. 
These  many  problems,  however,  have  long 
been  seen,  even  by  superficial  students,  to  be 
interdependent.  Lying  at  the  back  of  our 
social  problems,  we  are  gradually  coming  to 
realize,  there  is  the  social  problem;  but  un- 
fortunately we  are  far  from  agreed  as  yet  as 
to  what  that  problem  is.  Theorist  and  prac- 


INTRODUCTION 

tical  reformer  alike  have  been  too  prone  to  see 
it  from  the  little  corner  in  which  they  were 
working.  The  truly  broad  view  of  the  problem 
is  scarcely  to  be  found  in  the  social  literature 
of  the  present,  save,  perhaps,  in  the  pages  of 
a  few  writers  who  apparently  have  no  appre- 
ciable influence  as  yet  on  practical  social  and 
political  leaders.8 

The  present  strife  between  classes  and  na- 
tions has  obscured  the  real  nature  of  the  social 
problem  in  many  ways;  but  in  others  it  has 
clarified  the  issues  involved.  It  has  shown 
that  the  social  problem  cannot  be  defined  or 
understood  from  any  point  of  view  which  is 
merely  national.  War  has  suddenly  revealed 
the  interdependence  of  national  groups  ano^ 
the  common  life  of  humanity.  When  an  au- 
thor, claiming  to  speak  for  any  one  nation 
asserts  that  "action  in  favour  of  collective 
humanity  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  State  or 
nationality  is  impossible;"6  and  that  its  own 

6  Cf.  the  ideas  in  Howerth,  Work  and  Life  (1912) 
and  in  Hobson,  The  Social  Problem. 
6  Bemhardi,  Germany  and  the  Next  War,  p.  25. 
9 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

mission  is  to  impose  its  superior  civilization 
upon  as  large  a  part  of  humanity  as  possible, 
the  rest  of  the  civilized  world  stands  aghast  at 
this  frank  avowal  of  group  egoism  as  a  basis 
for  practical  living.  It  suddenly  becomes  evi- 
dent that  the  unit  of  our  sociological  thinking 
must  be  humanity.  We  see  at  once  that  group 
egoism,  whether  of  a  nation,  class,  or  race,  is 
no  lovelier  than  individual  egoism.  Again,  the 
danger  of  taking  some  single  principle,  like 
that  of  the  biological  struggle  for  existence, 
from  some  single  aspect  of  life,  and  conceiving 
the  human  problem  preponderatingly  in  its 
terms,  becomes  evident,  when  we  are  told 
that  "the  aspiration  [to  abolish  war]  is 
directly  antagonistic  to  the  great  universal 
laws  which  rule  all  life." 7  We  begin  to 
see  that  all  the  factors  which  shape  civi- 
lized human  life,  whether  material  or  im- 
material, must  be  taken  into  account  in 

7  For  a  more  detailed  and  scientific  analysis  of  the 
nature  of  social  unity,  see  Chapter  VIII  of  the  writer's 
Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects  (D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  1912). 

10 


INTRODUCTION 

any  truly  broad  view  of  the  social  prob- 
lem. 

Let  us  specify  briefly  some  of  the  particular, 
narrow  views  of  the  social  problem  which  are 
dangerously  prevalent  at  the  present  time. 
To  many,  whose  vision  has  been  confined 
largely  to  the  economic  relations  of  classes 
within  the  nation,  the  modern  social  problem 
has  seemed  essentially  the  labour  problem.  If 
it  is  not  merely  the  problem  of  the  harmonious 
adjustment  of  employer  and  employee,  it  is 
at  most  the  problem  of  finding  a  social  order 
in  which  work  and  enjoyment  shall  be  in  satis- 
factory relationship  to  each  other.  Hence  the 
generally  prevalent  view  that  the  social  prob- 
lem is  essentially  the  problem  of  the  satis- 
factory production  and  just  distribution  of 
wealth.  To  find  the  proper  methods  of  pro- 
ducing and  distributing  material  goods,  would 
solve  the  social  problem,  according  to  these 
thinkers. 

The  pacifists,  however,  looking  beyond  the 
bounds  of  national  life,  and  emphasizing  the 

dangers  to  civilization  itself  of  international 

11 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

conflicts,  have  suggested  that  the  pressing 
social  problem  of  the  present  is  that  of  inter- 
national relationships.  If  by  treaties  inter- 
national federal  councils  and  arbitration  courts 
could  be  established  to  discuss  all  questions 
and  settle  all  disputes  between  nations;  if  the 
burdens  of  militarism  and  increasing  arma- 
ments could  thus  be  thrown  off;  then,  they 
seem  to  think,  the  inherent  forces  in  civiliza- 
tion, such  as  increasing  knowledge  and  increas- 
ing control  over  external  nature,  could  be 
trusted  to  work  out  the  solution  of  all  minor 
questions. 

But  the  eugenists,  looking  beyond  the 
bounds  of  the  present  generation,  have  lately 
insisted  that  the  real  social  problem  of  the 
present  is  the  problem  of  the  relation  of  the 
generations  to  one  another,  more  particularly, 
the  problem  of  the  control  of  heredity.  Start- 
ing out  with  an  abstract  biologic  man,  much 
like  the  abstract  economic  man  of  the  early 
nineteenth  century,  they  seem  to  think  that 
the  all-important  matter  is  the  breeding  of 

man.    To  secure  the  perfect,  or  even  the  nor- 

12 


INTRODUCTION 

mal  physical  man,  would  be  to  solve,  they 
think,  the  essential  problem  of  humanity. 

To  the  leaders  of  the  feminist  movement, 
the  social  problem  appears  to  be  very  largely 
"the  woman  problem,"  or  at  most  the  prob- 
lem of  the  relations  of  the  sexes  to  one  another. 
When  opportunity  is  given  to  woman  to  as- 
sert herself  freely,  to  develop  her  own  per- 
sonality fully,  and  to  make  her  full  contribu- 
tion to  the  social  life  of  mankind,  then  the 
problems  of  our  civilization  will  easily  be 
solved. 

The  views  of  pacifists,  eugenists  and  fem- 
inists are  all  to  be  welcomed  as  tending,  at 
least,  to  bring  out  the  larger  human  elements 
in  the  problem.  Some  of  us,  at  least,  are  be- 
ginning to  perceive  that  the  social  problem 
is  now,  what  it  has  been  in  all  ages,  namely, 
the  problem  of  the  relations  of  men  to  one  an- 
other. It  is  the  problem  of  human  living  to- 
gether, and  cannot  be  confined  to  any  state- 
ment in  economic,  eugenic  or  other  one-sided 
terms.  The  social  problem  is  neither  the 

labour  problem,  nor  the  problem  of  the  dis- 

13 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

tribution  of  wealth,  nor  the  problem  of  the 
relation  of  population  to  natural  resources, 
nor  of  the  control  of  hereditary  qualities,  nor 
of  the  harmonious  adjustment  of  the  relations 
of  the  sexes;  but  it  is  all  of  these  and  much 
more.  If  the  social  problem  is  the  problem 
of  human  living  together,  then  it  is  as  broad 
as  humanity  and  human  nature,  and  no  mere 
statement  of  it  in  terms  of  one  set  of  factors 
will  suffice.  Such  a  statement  obscures  the 
real  nature  of  the  problem,  and  may  lead  to 
dangerous,  one-sided  attempts  at  its  solution. 

A  word  of  caution  is  necessary  here.  Be- 
cause the  greatest  possible  broadmindedness 
is  needful  to  view  aright  the  social  problem — 
the  problem  of  human  living  together — it 
must  not  be  thought  that  it  is  beyond  the 
power  of  the  human  intellect  or  of  science. 
On  the  contrary,  we  may  boldly  claim  that 
if  we  will  keep  to  the  common-sense  view  of 
the  world,  and  not  be  seduced  by  one-sided 
philosophies,  enough  knowledge  of  how  hu- 
man groups  do  actually  live  together  has 

14 


INTRODUCTION 

already  been  accumulated  to  make  it  possible 
for  any  well-trained  mind  to  see  deeply  and 
truly  into  the  problem  of  human  living  to- 
gether— whether  the  living  together  concern 
two  or  three  individuals  or  humanity  as  a 
whole.  Nor  must  it  be  thought  that  because 
so  many  different  factors  are  involved  in  our 
social  life  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  "the 
social  problem,"  that  it  is  only  a  name  for 
many  different  problems.  On  the  contrary, 
nothing  is  so  real  as  the  social  problem — the 
problem  of  living  together.  Every  age,  na- 
tion, and  individual  must  solve  it  in  some 
way,  by  howsoever  crude  a  social  philosophy. 
But  to  solve  it  aright  for  humanity  at  large — 
in  universal  terms,  so  to  speak — requires  a 
scientific  understanding  of  the  forces  at  work 
in  human  interrelations,  and  careful  putting 
together  in  a  right  way  of  all  the  factors  con- 
cerned. In  brief,  it  requires  a  scientific 
sociology. 

Let  us,  therefore,  consider  the  nature  of  the 
unity  of  a  social  group  in  the  light  of  modern 

sociology  in  order  to  see  what  the  nature  of 

15 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

the  social  problem  of  the  present  is  upon 
scientific  analysis.8  A  social  group,  whatever 
else  it  may  be,  is  a  mass  of  interactions  be- 
tween the  individuals  who  compose  it;  but  if 
it  is  to  have  any  sort  of  unity,  these  interac- 
tions must  be  regulated  and  controlled,  that 
is,  the  activities  of  the  individual  members 
of  the  group  must  be  adjusted  to  one  another 
in  some  more  or  less  definite  way.  Otherwise, 
the  group  cannot  work  together  as  a  unit  nor 
can  its  actions  work  out  to  any  definite  end. 
While  analogies  are  dangerous  in  science,  it 
may  be  helpful  to  compare  our  social  group  to 
a  machine.  Now  the  unity  of  a  machine  is 
secured  by  the  nice  adjustment  of  its  parts  to 
one  another.  If  this  adjustment  is  not  me- 
chanically perfect,  there  is  friction  and  it  will 
not  work  well,  or  perhaps  not  at  all.  So  in 
the  social  group  there  must  be  this  nice  ad- 
justment between  the  activities  of  its  in- 

•   ; 

8  For  a  more  detailed  and  scientific  analysis  of  the 
nature  of  social  unity,  see  Chapter  VIII  of  the  writer's 
Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects  (D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  1912). 

16 


INTRODUCTION 

dividual  members,  if  the  group  is  to  work 
well  as  a  unity,  or  even  at  all.  But  the  parts 
of  the  social  mechanism,  if  we  may  so  call  it, 
are  not  bits  of  dead,  inert  physical  matter, 
but  are  living,  feeling,  thinking  individual 
units.  The  machinist  has  only  to  know  the 
principles  of  physics  in  order  to  manipulate 
the  parts  of  the  machine  as  he  will,  to  secure 
its  harmonious  working.  But  the  social  leader 
cannot  so  easily  manipulate  the  individuals 
of  his  group.  He  must  understand  human 
nature  in  all  of  its  phases;  that  is,  he  must 
know  the  principles  of  psychology  instead  of 
physics  to  make  the  social  mechanism  work 
harmoniously.  He  must  understand  all  the 
factors,  in  other  words,  involved  in  that  ad- 
justment of  the  activities  of  individuals  to 
one  another,  which  is  necessary  in  order  that 
the  group  may  work  together  as  a  unity. 

Now  the  factors  which  are  involved  in  the 
harmonious  adjustment  of  the  parts  of  our 
social  machine  are  evidently  very  numerous. 
First  of  all,  of  course,  are  the  external  physical 

conditions.    These  must  be  such  as  to  favour 

17 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

the  normal  development  of  human  life  in  all 
ways  or  else  the  social  machine  will  work 
badly  or  not  at  all.  But  taking  favourable 
conditions  in  the  external  environment  for 
granted,  it  is  evident  that  many  internal 
factors  will  need  to  be  considered.  First 
among  these  is  the  biological  make-up  of  the 
individuals  concerned,  and  the  impulses  or 
instincts  which  this  make-up  gives  rise  to. 
Unless  these  are  such  as  to  favour  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  activities  of  individuals  concerned, 
we  can  scarcely  expect  any  high  degree  of 
social  unity.  Heredity  must  be  right  or  else 
our  social  machine  will  not  work  well.  Beyond 
heredity,  however,  and  equally  important  is 
the  matter  of  the  acquired  habits  of  the  in- 
dividuals of  the  group.  Either  these  habits 
must  be  similar,  or  if  different,  must  be  such 
that  they  can  be  harmoniously  coordinated, 
or  else  again  we  will  have  little  or  no  social 
unity.  Mere  habituation  has  much  to  do 
with  maintaining  social  order;  and  therefore, 
external  circumstances  which  affect  habit 

must  be  strictly  controlled  by  a  group  if  it  is  to 

18 


INTRODUCTION 

keep  its  unity.  But  if  any  social  unity  of  more 
than  a  merely  animal  sort  is  to  be  attained 
certain  purely  subjective  elements  must  also 
be  taken  into  account.  For  in  all  conscious 
human  groups  it  is  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
individuals  towards  one  another  which  is  the 
final,  decisive  factor  which  decides  whether 
a  group  shall  maintain  its  unity  or  be  dis- 
rupted. There  are,  for  example,  the  feelings, 
sentiments,  ideas,  beliefs,  and  opinions  of  the 
group.  Not  only  must  these  be  similar  within 
certain  limits,  but  the  members  of  the  group 
must  be  more  or  less  conscious  of  this  similar- 
ity, that  is,  they  must  develop  mutual  sym- 
pathy and  understanding.  From  mutual 
sympathy  and  understanding,  moreover,  arise 
confidence  and  reciprocal  trust  which  make 
possible  still  closer  coordination  between  the 
members  of  a  group. 

All  of  these  are  necessary  that  the  mech- 
anism of  human  society  may  work  harmo- 
niously. And  such  facts  show  conclusively 
that  the  unity  of  human  groups  is  essentially 

a  psychic  or  spiritual  matter.     Destroy  the 

19 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

psychic  element  in  it,  and  we  should  have  no 
society.  Even  if  the  psychic  element  may  be 
only  a  means  to  perfect  the  adjustments  of 
life,  still  it  is  evidently  the  absolutely  decisive 
factor  in  the  social  life  of  civilized  men.  And 
we  shall  see  as  we  proceed  that  the  psychic  or 
spiritual  elements  in  social  life  are  not  wholly 
derived  from  the  immediate  environment, 
but  have  a  life  history  of  their  own.  These 
simple  principles  of  social  unity  apply  to  all 
human  groups,  from  the  simplest  to  humanity 
if  it  shall  ever  become  organized. 

But  what  makes  civilization?  The  level 
of  civilization  in  social  development  is  not 
reached  until  in  addition  to  all  of  the  instincts, 
habits,  feelings  and  sentiments  which  unite 
men  into  groups  we  have  certain  socially 
coordinating,  unifying  ideas  and  ideals.  For 
essentially  civilization  is  the  discovery,  dif- 
fusion and  the  transmission  from  age  to  age 
of  the  knowledge,  beliefs,  ideas  and  ideals  by 
which  men  have  found  it  possible  to  conquer 

nature  and  live  together  in  well-ordered  groups. 

20 


INTRODUCTION 

It  is,  in  large  measure,  the  substitution  of  a 
"subjective  environment"  of  ideas  and  ideals 
for  the  objective  environment  of  material 
objects;  and  cultural  evolution  is  possible  only 
through  the  continuity  of  this  subjective 
environment,  that  is,  through  the  continuity 
of  ideas  and  social  values.  Civilization,  in 
other  words,  is  at  bottom  the  creation  and  trans- 
mission of  ideal  values  by  which  men  regulate 
their  conduct.  It  is,  therefore,  essentially  a 
spiritual  affair  and  cannot  be  measured  by 
changes  in  the  material  environment,  prone 
as  we  may  be  to  measure  it  thus.  While 
human  society  was  from  the  start  psychic, 
it  is  manifest  that  only  in  its  higher  develop- 
ments does  it  become  so  dominated  by  the 
psychic  that  it  may  well  be  called  spiritual. 
Likeness  in  the  beliefs  and  ideals  of  its  mem- 
bers becomes  finally  even  more  important 
than  the  likeness  of  impulse,  habit  and  feeling 
which  was  the  original  foundation  of  group  life. 
Civilized  human  beings,  in  other  words, 
cannot  live  together  harmoniously  without 

some -mutually  accepted  scale  of  values  by 

21 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

which  they  can  measure  and  regulate  conduct. 
They  need  not  only  the  like-mindedness 
which  springs  from  similar  impulses,  habits, 
emotions,  and  feelings,  but  also  generally 
accepted  ideas  and  ideals  of  life,  if  they  are  to 
achieve  any  social  order  worthy  to  be  called 
civilized.  A  civilized  social  order  must  rest 
upon  certain  ideal  values,  which,  at  least  in  a 
democratic  society,  must  be  accepted  by  a 
large  majority  of  the  population. 

Now,  when  we  look  out  on  Western  society, 
we  find  absolute  difference,  if  not  hopeless 
conflict,  between  the  fundamental  beliefs  and 
ideals  of  its  members.  If  Western  civilization 
is  at  present  torn  with  conflicts,  it  is  because 
just  now  our  world  of  values  is  topsy-turvey. 
Faith  in  the  old  ideals  by  which  men  have 
lived  in  the  past  has  decayed  in  many  classes, 
and  no  new  ideals  have  yet  been  found  and 
generally  accepted  upon  which  to  build  a  new 
social  order.9  There  is  scarcely  an  institu- 

9  Compare  the  chapter  on  "The  Intellectual  Temper 
of  the  Age'*  in  Professor  Santayana's  The  Winds  of 

22 


INTRODUCTION 

tion  from  the  family  to  the  State  which  is  not 
in  the  crucible  of  fiery  criticism  and  in  appar- 
ent disintegration.  Take  the  institution  of 
the  family  for  illustration.  Instead  of  the 
general  acceptance  of  permanent  monogamy 
as  the  ideal  of  the  family,  which  it  was  until 
very  recently  in  Western  civilization,  we  now 
see  this  form  of  the  family  attacked  on  every 
side  by  groups  which  advocate  divorce  by 
mutual  consent,  free  love,  polygamy,  and  even 
promiscuity.  The  proportion  of  individuals 
who  hold  to  these  views  in  Western  civiliza- 
tion is  now  so  great  that  their  existence  can 
no  longer  be  ignored,  while  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  an  even  larger  number  practise 
these  theories  without  being  willing  to  admit 
that  they  hold  them  as  their  standards. 
In  other  words,  much  of  the  present  criticism 
of  the  family  is  no  longer  constructive,  but 
is  anarchistic  and  absolutely  destructive,  and 
is  proving  so  in  actual  practice. 

Doctrine — a  book  which  itself  especially  well  illustrates 
the  fact  that  in  many  fundamental  beliefs  the  modern 
world  is  still  "in  full  career  toward  disintegration." 

23 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

Again,  if  we  take  modern  literature  as 
faithfully  reflecting  the  inner  condition  of  our 
civilization,  the  absolute  disagreement  as  to 
ideals  of  life  becomes  even  more  plainly  visible. 
A  very  large  part  of  modern  literature  repu- 
diates not  only  the  traditional  standards  of 
Christian  ethics,  but  all  truly  humanitarian 
standards  whatsoever.  It  exalts  the  individual 
as  an  end  and  as  a  law  unto  himself,  and  not 
infrequently  inculcates  the  gratification  of 
natural  impulses  and  appetites  as  the  highest 
good  in  life.  It  often  derides  the  ideals  of 
service  and  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  sake  of 
service,  and  even  the  idea  of  social  obligation. 
The  individual  and  his  feelings  are  its  supreme 
value.  It  is  not  simply  a  few  minor  writers 
who  thus  flout  the  traditional  morality  of 
Christendom  in  the  family  and  in  general 
social  relations,  but  some  of  the  foremost 
figures  in  literature  to-day.  The  decay  of  our 
moral  ideals  is  evident,  then,  from  even  a 
cursory  acquaintance  with  modern  literature. 

If  we  take  the  United  States  as  an  example 

of  one  of  the  most  developed  nations  in  West- 

24 


INTRODUCTION 

ern  civilization,  we  find  that  it  exhibits  the 
utmost  confusion  and  conflict  with  respect  to 
the  higher  values  of  life.10  Every  American, 
of  course,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  belated 
idealists,  believes  in  the  value  of  wealth, 
and  of  the  comfort  and  power  and  position 
which  wealth  will  bring.  Practically  every 
American  is  also  convinced  of  the  value  of  in- 
dividual liberty,  the  power  to  do  as  one  pleases, 
with  a  minimum  of  social  constraint.  Most 
Americans  are  also  probably  in  agreement  as 
to  the  value  of  health,  or  at  least  they  are 
rapidly  coming  to  such  agreement.  Finally, 
the  American  people  seem  to  be  becoming 
convinced  of  the  value  of  knowledge,  and  so 
of  education,  at  least  the  education  of  infonn- 

10  An  interesting  symposium  on  "What  is  Ameri- 
canism," just  published  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Sociology  for  January,  1915,  furnishes  arriple  confirma- 
tion of  the  lack  of  like-mindedness  in  the  American 
people  as  to  the  ideals  which  should  guide  our  future 
civilization.  As  the  editor  (Professor  Small)  remarks: 
"The  one  illustrative  value  (of  the  symposium)  to 
which  we  call  attention  is  the  exhibit  of  the  miscel- 
laneousness  of  American  minds." 

25 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

ation.  But,  if  there  are  other  social  values  of 
moment  as  to  which  the  American  people 
are  in  practically  unanimous  agreement,  the 
writer  is  at  loss  to  name  them.  They  are 
certainly  not  in  agreement  as  to  the  value  of 
the  family,  property,  government,  morality, 
or  religion.  "It  is  useless  to  deny,"  says 
Professor  Giddings,  "that  our  present  tend- 
ency in  the  United  States  is  toward  anarchy 
in  all  those  fields  of  human  interest  which  we 
have  not  yet  brought  under  the  iron  hand  of 
our  central  government;"  and  he  might  have 
added,  "especially  in  the  field  of  social  ideals." 
Again,  if  we  take  modern  Germany  as  an 
example  of  one  of  the  most  developed  peoples 
in  Europe,  we  find  that  in  it  certain  tendencies 
of  our  civilization  have  come  to  a  head.  We 
find  among  certain  advanced  thinkers  that 
practical  ethics  has  become  based  upon  an 
evolutionary  naturalism  which  has  eventuated 
in  the  worship  of  power,  as  in  Nietzsche  and 
von  Treitschke.11  There  are  even  those  who 

11  The  writer  would  emphasize  that  these  tendencies 
have  only  come  to  a  head  in  Germany.    For  indications 

26 


INTRODUCTION 

feel,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly  would  be 
impossible  definitely  to  ascertain,  that  the 
quality  of  idealism,  which  was  once  a  national 
pride,  is  lifting,  giving  place  over  all  the  na- 
tion to  a  materialism  which  may  tend  to  in- 
fluence and  modify  the  characteristics  of 
Treue  and  simple-mindedness  existing  among 
the  people.  This  materialism,  if  carried  to 
its  logical  end,  would  express  itself  in  a  great 
many  socially  negative  doctrines — doctrines 
which  are  not  favourable  to  increasing  solid- 
arity. In  the  ruling  classes  there  has  been 
a  growing  admiration  for  the  army  system, 
a  subconscious  inclination  toward  the  belief 
that  the  might  of  the  State  is  "the  supreme 
right."  Hence  for  a  long  period  Machi- 
avellian political  philosophy  has  dominated 
in  Germany,  not  only  in  practical  politics,  but 
to  a  large  extent  in  academic  circles  also.  A 
very  large  school  of  German  historical  and 

of  similar  tendencies  in  other  lands,  see  Cramb's  Eng- 
land and  Germany,  and  articles  in  periodical  literature 
like  Wyatt's  Test  by  War  in  The  Nineteenth  Century 
and  After,  1911. 

27 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

political  writers  have  endorsed  such  views. 
It  is  over  a  generation  since  Gustav  von 
Riimelin,  the  renowned  chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Tubingen,  declared  that  the 
principles  of  Christian  morality  could  not 
possibly  be  applied  to  politics,  and  especially 
not  to  the  relations  between  nations.12 

This  doctrine  has  been  constantly  reechoed, 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  a  recent  German 
militarist  writer  can  declare:  "This  law  [of 
love]  can  claim  no  significance  for  the  rela- 
tions of  one  country  to  another,  since  its  ap- 
plication to  politics  would  lead  to  a  conflict 
of  duties.  .  .  .  Christian  morality  is  per- 
sonal, and  in  its  nature  cannot  be  political." 

It  would  be  ridiculous,  of  course,  to  say 
that  all  Germans  accept  such  views  of 
life,  quite  as  much  as  it  would  be  unjust 
to  charge  them  with  accepting  free  love  and 
polygamy  because  some  of  their  writers  have 
advocated  such  practices.  But  it  is  necessary 
to  point  out  how  far  the  pendulum  has  swung 

12 "  Uber  das  Verhaltniss  der  Politik  zur  Moral "  (1874), 
published  in  his  Reden  und  Aufs'dtze,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  144-171. 

28 


INTRODUCTION 

toward  barbarism  in  morals,  as  well  as  towards 
naivete  in  art,  among  certain  groups  in  a  peo- 
ple once  famed  for  their  social  idealism  and 
Christian  piety.13  Germany  only  illustrates 
the  reversion  towards  barbarism  in  Western 
civilization  generally.  And  this  reversion 
towards  barbarism  in  the  ideals  of  life  must 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
present  fierce  struggle  among  European  na- 
tions.14 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  cite  many  in- 
stances of  recrudescence  of  barbarism  among 
other  European  peoples.  Indeed,  the  most 
distressing  thing  about  the  present  war  is 

18  By  "  barbarism  "  is  meant  that  state  of  civilization 
in  which  the  chief  social  sanctions  employed  are  those 
of  brute  force,  and  little  or  no  social  control  is  exercised 
through  the  higher  ethical  values. 

14  It  may  be  well  to  quote  here  the  words  of  Ferrero 
whose  knowledge  both  of  classic  antiquity  and  of  con- 
temporary conditions  few  would  dispute:  "We  are 
travelling  step  by  step  back  toward  paganism,  with 
all  its  inconveniencies  and  all  its  perils."  As  we  have 
already  emphasized,  however,  this  may  be  only  a  tem- 
porary retrograde  movement  and  it  is  certainly  not 

an  inevitable  one. 

29 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

not  the  frightful  destruction  of  life  and  prop- 
erty, but  the  barbarous  hatred  manifested  by 
the  contending  nations  toward  each  other — a 
hatred  such  as  scarcely  has  been  witnessed 
in  recent  European  wars.  In  Germany,  for 
example,  admirals,  generals,  journalists,  and 
even  university  professors  and  theologians 
seem  to  have  vied  with  each  other  in  the  ex- 
pression of  the  most  bitter  hatred  toward 
England;  while  on  the  side  of  the  Allies  the 
most  eminent  Belgian  writer  of  the  century, 
M.  Maeterlinck,  has  said  that  no  mercy  must 
be  shown  the  Germans,  that  "they  must  be 
destroyed  as  we  destroy  a  nest  of  wasps."  15 
How  world  peace  is  to  issue  from  the  atmos- 
phere of  envenomed  hate,  which  now  en- 
shrouds the  classes,  nations,  and  races  of  the 
modern  world,  is  difficult  for  even  the  wisest 
man  to  see.  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells'  prophetic  pic- 

15  The  Daily  Mail,  London,  Sept.  14,  1914.  Similar 
expressions  by  less  well-known  individuals  have  often 
been  noted  by  the  writer  in  the  daily  press  of  the  Allies, 
though  it  may  be  added  that  on  the  whole  the  tone  of 
their  better  newspapers  was  temperate  and  unobjec- 
tionable. 

30 


INTRODUCTION 

ture  of  the  destruction  of  modern  civilization 
seems  within  the  measure  of  possible  realiza- 
tion. 

Now,  these  statements  are  not  made  as  a 
basis  for  any  pessimistic  conclusion.  They  are 
given  simply  as  facts.  Such  facts  are  indica- 
tions, to  be  sure,  of  grave  social  disorder;  but 
such  disorder,  may,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  a 
normal  accompaniment  of  the  profound  social 
changes  through  which  Western  civilization  is 
now  passing.  To  be  sure,  the  negative  social 
ideas  which  now  prevail  among  certain  classes 
in  Western  nations  cannot  be  considered  an 
indication  of  social  normality.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  present  real  dangers;  but  our  con- 
tention is  that  in  passing  from  one  type  of 
social  order  to  another  we  must  expect  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  confusion  in  regard  to  the  ideas 
and  ideals  by  which  men  govern  their  lives. 
It  is  impossible  for  societies  to  change  their 
methods  of  living  without  some  degree  of  con- 
fusion, just  as  it  is  impossible  for  individuals 

to  make  such  changes  without  some  confu- 

31 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

sion.16  Now,  when  the  change  which  has  to 
be  made  is  a  great  one,  there  will  be  more  op- 
portunity for  such  confusion.  If  societies 
could  keep  a  high  degree  of  flexibility  in  their 
institutions,  intelligently  changing  them  to 
meet  all  changing  conditions,  there  probably 
never  would  be  any  such  thing  as  the  break- 
down of  institutions  or  social  order.  In  other 
words,  there  would  never  be  any  social  revolu- 
tions. There  would  be  only  gradual  social 
evolution.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  rul- 
ing classes  of  a  society  rarely  keep  the  flexi- 
bility and  plasticity  in  institutions  which 
they  should  ideally  possess.  Through  short- 
sightedness or  personal  interest  they  attempt 
to  block  normal  social  changes,  and  that  is  the 
way  largely  that  trouble  begins  in  civilized 
societies.  In  reaction  from  the  conservatism 
of  the  ruling  classes  dangerous  forms  of  radical- 
ism with  socially  negative  and  disintegrating 
ideas  emerge.  These  disintegrating  ideas  are 
used  as  weapons  to  attack  the  existing  order  of 
society.  The  revolt  against  the  existing  order 

16  See  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  p.  173, 
32 


INTRODUCTION 

spreads  to  all  the  classes  unfavourably  af- 
fected by  existing  institutions,  and  through 
sympathy  finally  to  many  others.  Unless  the 
ruling  classes  yield,  a  bloody  conflict  between 
classes  breaks  out  and  we  have  a  revolu- 
tion. 

If  the  normal  course  of  social  evolution  is 
checked,  then  the  stream  of  progress,  blocked 
for  a  time  by  the  shortsightedness  or  selfish- 
ness of  individuals,  will  sooner  or  later  break 
the  artificial  dam  obstructing  its  path,  prob- 
ably with  catastrophic  violence,  leaving  social 
ruin  and  the  desolation  behind  it.  This  is  the 
essence  of  our  theory  of  social  revolutions: 17 
and  it  suffices  to  explain  the  general  facts  of 
such  social  calamities  from  the  French  Revolu- 
tion to  the  recent  Chinese  and  Mexican 
Revolutions. 

Here  we  notice  a  peculiar  fact  about  our 
social  machine.  Unlike  any  other  machine  it 
will  not  stay  "put."  No  matter  how  nicely 
its  parts  may  have  been  adjusted  to  one  an- 

17  See  Chapter  VIII  of  the  writer's  Sociology  in  Its 
Psychological  Aspects  for  a  more  detailed  exposition. 

33 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

other  through  some  cleverly  devised  social 
system,  say,  through  the  unifying  effect  of 
some  generally  accepted  social  policy,  they 
cannot  remain  adjusted  on  this  plane  long; 
for  the  conditions  of  life  change,  and  the  social 
order  which  worked  well  yesterday  will  no 
longer  work  to-day.  In  matters  of  social  or- 
ganization it  is  preeminently  true  that  "time 
makes  ancient  good  uncouth."  Civilized 
human  societies  must  be,  therefore,  in  a  con- 
tinuous process  of  readjustment.  Progress  is 
the  very  law  of  their  being:  and  if  the  ruling 
classes  in  any  society  attempt  to  enforce  a 
policy  of  standing  still,  there  is  bound  to  be 
trouble.  The  only  way  to  avert  social  revolu- 
tion, as  Turgot  declares,  is  through  suitable 
and  well-timed  reforms.  The  surest  way  to 
bring  on  a  revolution,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
for  the  ruling  classes  to  attempt  to  preserve 
an  order  of  society  which  no  longer  works  well; 
and  if  we  may  judge  from  the  lack  of  adapta- 
bility and  of  intelligent  sense  of  social  responsi- 
bility of  some  who  are  in  power  in  American 

industry,  law,  and  government,  the  outlook 

34 


INTRODUCTION 

is  bad  for  American  society  just  at  the  present 
moment. 

But  if  confusion  as  regards  the  ideals  of  life 
is  normal  in  periods  of  social  transition,18  and 
if  some  development  of  purely  negative  or 
destructive  radicalism  is  to  be  expected  at 
such  times  as  a  natural  reaction  from  the  ultra- 
conservatism  of  the  ruling  classes,  where  is 
the  danger?  The  reply  is  that  the  danger 
consists  in  this  social  confusion  and  disinte- 
gration going  too  far.  There  is  no  assurance 
in  either  history  or  sociology  of  continuous 
progressive  evolution,  that  is,  there  is  no 
assurance  that  when  institutions  break  down 
they  will  be  replaced  by  better  adapted  or 
higher  institutions.  On  the  contrary,  there 
is  always  the  danger  that  there  will  be  a  re- 
version to  a  lower  type  of  social  order  and  of 
civilization.  Socially  negative  and  disin- 
tegrating doctrines  may  be  first  elaborated  as 
weapons  of  attack  against  some  existing  in- 

18  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  pp.  173,  174, 
176,  177. 

35 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

stitution,  which  is  no  longer  adapted,  but  the 
fury  of  party  fanaticism  may  lead  them  to  be 
taken  as  adequate  doctrines  in  themselves. 
The  result  is  seen  in  the  tendency  toward 
anarchy  frequently  manifested  in  revolution- 
ary periods,  in  the  series  of  profound  social 
disorders,  culminating  finally  in  the  appear- 
ance of  "the  strong  man"  who  is  invoked  to 
restore  order  by  despotic  means. 

Let  us  recall  again  the  nature  of  civiliza- 
tion, that  it  consists  essentially  in  the  propaga- 
tion and  conservation  of  certain  ideal  social 
values.  We  see  immediately  that  civiliza- 
tion is  from  its  very  nature  a  fragile  affair: 
that  it  is  possible  for  any  of  the  great  value 
traditions  of  civilized  society  to  be  broken 
down  at  any  moment,  especially  those  which 
have  respect  to  the  higher  institutions  and 
relationships.  And  as  Hobhouse  says,  "If  the 
tradition19  is  broken,  the  race  begins  again 

19  Tradition,  in  the  sociological  sense,  includes  all 
knowledge,  belief,  ideals,  standards  and  values  handed 
down  from  the  past.  Its  influence  upon  the  individual 
may  be,  of  course,  either  conscious  or  unconscious. 

36 


INTRODUCTION 

where  it  stood  before  the  tradition  was 
formed."  M  It  is  easily  possible,  in  other  words, 
for  civilized  societies  to  return  to  barbarism,21 
though  a  complete  return  would  perhaps 
necessitate  centuries  in  the  case  of  high  civili- 
zations, since  not  all  civilizing  traditions 
could  be  broken  down  at  once.  This  process 
of  the  decay  of  the  higher  social  values  may, 
of  course,  go  on  in  times  of  social  peace  through 
the  undermining  of  the  sense  of  social  obliga- 
tion and  social  responsibility  by  materialism 
and  individualism;  and  we  have  seen  it  long 
going  on  among  ourselves.  But  in  periods 
of  international  war  and  of  internal  revolution, 

20  Social  Evolution  and  Political  Theory,  p.  39. 

21  It  may  be  reasonably  argued  that  retrogressive 
movements  are  more  liable  to  take  place  in  high  civi- 
lizations than  in  low  ones  on  account  of  the  delicacy 
of  the  structure  of  the  higher  civilization.    Again,  war 
has  become  so  much  more  destructive,  affects  so  much 
more  national  and  international  life,  that  the  effects 
of  a  prolonged  war  among  Western  nations  might  be 
to  set  civilization  back  centuries.    We  are  not  justified 
in  concluding,  therefore,  that  modern  civilization  is 
more  stable  than  ancient  civilization. 

37 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

with  their  bloody  conflicts  between  peoples 
and  classes,  the  process  of  social  disintegra- 
tion and  of  relapse  towards  barbarism  may 
be  infinitely  accelerated.  For  in  such  con- 
flicts the  animal  instincts  of  man  are  fright- 
fully stimulated  and  apt  to  gain  control, 
while  negative  social  doctrines,  becoming  the 
watchwords  of  parties,  are  made  the  impos- 
sible foundations  of  social  order.  Where  such 
conflicts  are  long  continued,  the  social  loss 
and  damage  must  soon  become  irrepar- 
able. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  the  application  of 
such  facts  to  the  doctrine  now  growing  in 
popularity  among  us  that  we  must  expect 
social  progress  by  revolution,  just  as  we  have 
organic  evolution  by  mutation.  It  is  true 
that  social  progress  has  often  come  by  revolu- 
tion in  the  past,  but  usually  also  at  fearful 
social  cost.  An  actual  bloody  conflict  be- 
tween classes  cannot  occur  without  social  ruin 
and  disaster.  If  the  wounds  of  such  conflicts 
as  the  French  Revolution  and  the  American 

Civil  War  have  healed,  owing  to  the  recupera- 

38 


INTRODUCTION 

tive  power  of  our  civilization,  this  method  of 
progress  is  certainly  too  costly  for  any  civi- 
lized people  to  tolerate.  If  social  science  can- 
not show  us  a  better  way  of  progress  than  by 
revolution,  it  is  the  most  useless  of  disciplines. 
For  we  need  not  only  right  aims  in  social 
change  but  we  must  employ  wise  methods 
as  well;  otherwise  our  methods  may  defeat 
our  aims.  The  method  of  revolution  is  par- 
ticularly objectionable  in  social  change  since  it 
is  doubly  liable  to  defeat  its  aim.  On  the  one 
hand,  through  the  bloody  conflicts  which  it 
may  involve,  it  may  do  irreparable  injury 
to  the  finer  traditions  of  civilization;  on  the 
other,  through  the  persistence  of  habit,  it  is 
especially  liable  to  be  followed  by  reaction. 

Enough  perhaps  has  been  said  about  the 
nature  of  society  and  of  social  changes  to 
show  the  essentially  psychic  or  spiritual 
nature  of  the  whole  modern  social  problem; 
that  it  is  primarily  a  problem  of  values,  of 
ideals,  of  opinions  as  to  human  living  to- 
gether. This  is,  indeed,  in  practice  admitted 

39 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

by  all  except  a  few  fatalists  or  mechanists. 
Practical  socialists  and  eugenists,  for  example, 
are  as  busy  trying  to  straighten  out  our  values 
as  to  human  living  as  the  old  time  moralists 
and  theologians  ever  were.  The  chief  differ- 
ence is  that  some  socialists  and  some  eugenists 
seem  to  think  that  if  our  values  as  to  eco- 
nomic or  biological  conditions  are  straightened 
out,  all  other  values  will  spontaneously  right 
themselves.  They  seem  to  say  that  the  con- 
ditions under  which  men  do  their  work  are 
so  all-important  that  if  they  are  rightly  con- 
trolled the  conditions  of  their  leisure  and 
amusements  will  need  no  control;  or  that 
hereditary  qualities  are  so  important  that  if 
they  are  properly  controlled  we  need  not 
concern  ourselves  very  greatly  about  the 
influence  of  the  environment.  There  is  tre- 
mendous one-sidedness  in  many  of  the  social 
programmes  of  to-day ;  but  all  parties  are  prac- 
tically agreed  as  to  the  need  of  influencing 
the  opinions  and  beliefs  of  a  considerable 
element  of  the  population  before  desired  social 

changes  can  be  brought  about. 

40 


INTRODUCTION 

But  to  say  that  the  social  problem  of  the 
present  day  is  essentially  spiritual  is  not  to 
deny  the  presence  in  it  of  many  non-spiritual 
factors.  Man's  social  life,  like  individual 
character,  develops  about  two  poles — one  the 
material  conditions  of  life,  and  the  other  the 
psychic  controls  over  life,  which  are  repre- 
sented by  values,  ideas  and  ideals.22  No  one 
who  has  investigated  the  social  conditions  of 
the  present  would  deny  for  one  instant  the 
importance  of  the  material  conditions  of  life, 
especially  of  economic  conditions,  upon  our 
civilization;  and  of  late  we  are  beginning  to 
appreciate,  owing  to  the  labours  of  eugenists 
and  social  workers,  the  importance  among  the 
material  conditions  of  the  biological  element 
also.  But,  admitting  the  importance  of  the 
material  conditions  of  life,  the  attack  upon 
the  problems  which  they  present  must  come 
in  the  first  instance  through  bringing  to  bear 
upon  them  our  ideas,  ideals,  and  valuations; 
and  this  is  merely  equivalent  to  saying  that 
our  ideas,  ideals,  and  values  must  be  so  ex- 

22  C/.  Ross,  Foundations  of  Sociology,  p.  230. 
41 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

panded  that  they  include,  and  give  adequate 
recognition  to  these  material  elements. 

-» 

But,  when  we  say  that  the  social  problem  is 
essentially  spiritual,  something  more  is  meant 
than  that  it  must  be  attacked  by  intellectual 
processes — by  science — if  it  is  to  be  solved. 
What  is  meant  is  that  the  psychic  elements  in 
it  are  so  influential  and  so  independent  that 
they  must  be  considered  preponderant.  We 
mean,  in  other  words,  that  the  ideas  and  ideals 
of  our  present  civilization  have  had  a  life  his- 
tory of  their  own,  not  to  be  understood  through 
the  study  of  material  conditions  alone;  that 
there  is  continuity  on  the  spiritual  as  well  as 
on  the  material  side  in  social  conditions;  and 
that  it  is  the  conflict  between  inharmonious 
traditions  and  ideals  in  our  culture,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  lack  of  adaptation  of  our 
ideas  and  ideals  to  the  present  conditions  of 
life,  on  the  other,  which  have  produced  the 
modern  social  problem.  Whether  we  look  at 
the  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  the  blind- 
ness of  our  ruling  classes,  or  from  the  stand- 

42 


INTRODUCTION 

point  of  the  hatred  and  malice  of  some  of  the 
non-privileged;  whether  we  consider  the  de- 
cay of  the  family  or  the  deterioration  of  our 
racial  stock;  whether  we  regard  the  conflicts 
between  individuals  or  between  nations,  what 
is  visible  everywhere  are  confused,  inadequate, 
conflicting  ideas  and  ideals  of  life.  Men  are  in 
inharmonious  relations,  classes  and  nations  are 
in  conflict,  civilization  is  rent  asunder  in  the 
modern  world,  because  men  have  been  trying 
to  live  by  socially  inadequate,  conflicting, 
one-sided  ideas  and  values. 

It  is  time  that  we  recognize  that  certain 
rotten  stones  were  laid  in  the  foundations  of 
Western  civilization;  and  that  these  must  be 
removed  if  the  whole  superstructure  is  not 
to  fall.  We  have  been  trying  to  build  a  deli- 
cate and  complex  social  structure  upon  wholly 
one-sided  and  even  negative  social  ideas  and 
values.  As  examples,  we  need  only  point  to 
the  materialism,  individualism,  and  hyper- 
nationalism  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which 
the  twentieth  century  also  is  apparently 

starting     out     to     take     as     its     practical 

43 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

guides.23  These  doctrines  are  socially  negative; 
materialism,  because  at  bottom  it  denies  the 
reality  of  the  spiritual  or  psychic  elements 
which  alone  make  civilization  possible;  in- 
dividualism, because  it  denies  the  reality  of 
the  common  life,  upon  recognition  of  which 
must  rest  the  sense  of  social  responsibility 
and  obligation;  hyper-nationalism,  or  national 
egoism,  because  it  denies  the  reality  of  the 
common  life  of  humanity  and  the  unlimited 
obligation  of  nations  to  humanity.  Yet  these 
socially  negative  and  destructive  doctrines 
are  so  embedded  in  the  structure  of  our  civili- 
zation that  their  most  prominent  advocates  are 
found  among  our  intellectual  and  social  elite. 
Even  sociologists,  who  are  supposed  to  be 
trying  to  find  the  solution  to  the  social  prob- 
lem, are  sometimes  found  among  their  sup- 
porters. To  such  an  extent  are  even  scientific 
men  the  puppets  of  their  time! 

23  These  are  only  a  few  of  the  one-sided  ideas  which 
might  be  mentioned.  Perhaps  we  should  include  the 
pseudo-idealism,  or  rather,  ideaism,  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

44 


INTRODUCTION 

In  such  a  civilization,  with  such  a  subjec- 
tive environment  of  socially  negative,  one- 
sided, and  conflicting  ideas  and  ideals,  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  we  are  producing 
so  many  distorted  and  socially  inadequate  in- 
dividual characters,  who  are  failures  in  prac- 
tically every  relation  of  life,  whether  it  be  as 
children,  as  parents,  as  husbands  or  wives,  as 
employer  or  employee,  as  citizens  or  public 
officials.  Our  civilization  is  evidently  breed- 
ing within  itself  a  mass  of  barbarians  who  do 
not  respect  its  higher  values.  These  are  the 
only  enemies  of  which  it  has  need  to  be  afraid; 
for  Western  civilization  is  no  longer  seriously 
threatened  by  external  foes.  If  its  walls  are 
ever  pulled  down  it  will  not  be  by  the  bar- 
barians of  Africa  or  Asia,  but  by  the  barba- 
rians within  its  gates.  Only  recently,  in  other 
words,  has  humanity  come  to  a  place  in  the 
long  march  up  the  slopes  of  progress  where  it 
can  see  an  apparently  clear  road  ahead.  But 
it  has  scarcely  achieved  this  when  enemies 
within  its  own  ranks  seem  about  to  obstruct 
and  hamper  its  march. 

45 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

Yet  the  situation  calls  for  no  pessimism, 
but  only  alertness  and  intelligent  apprecia- 
tion of  real  dangers  and  difficulties,  and  on 
the  part  of  social  leaders  a  genuine  largeness 
of  mind  in  seeing  all  the  factors  involved. 
Western  civilization  needs  a  great  social  and 
spiritual  awakening.  Its  whole  atmosphere 
must  be  changed.  Justice  must  be  established 
between  man  and  man  in  economic  and  other 
relations  of  life;  and  the  tradition  of  peace 
must  be  established  among  the  nations.  Fi- 
nally, the  springs  of  individual  character  must 
be  controlled,  so  that  civilization  can  get  rid 
of  the  stragglers,  the  hangers-on,  and  the 
enemies  that  obstruct  its  march.  To  admit 
that  the  social  problem  depends  at  all  for  its 
solution  upon  the  control  of  individual  charac- 
ter has  seemed  to  many  to  admit  the  hope- 
lessness of  the  problem;  but  we  hope  to  show 
that  this  is  a  mistake,  and  that  wise  social 
leadership  is  all  that  is  needed  to  deal  with 
even  this  most  difficult  aspect  of  our  problem. 

Our  present  social  situation,  then,  instead  of 

leading  to  a  counsel  of  despair,  should  be  an 

46 


INTRODUCTION 

inspiration  to  effort;  for  social  self-determinism 
is  no  mere  idle  dream  of  closet  philosophers. 
It  is  a  demonstrated  fact  of  experience  as  well 
as  a  programme  built  upon  the  understanding 
of  sociological  truth.  Human  society  is  but 
entering  upon  the  self-conscious  phase  of  its 
own  evolution.  Through  consciousness  of  its 
own  condition,  it  can,  if  it  will,  control  its  own 
destiny,  though  not  in  any  arbitrary  way. 
There  must  first  be  a  scientific  understanding 
on  the  part  of  social  leaders  of  the  part  played 
by  each  factor  which  enters  into  our  civiliza- 
tion and  which  may  make  or  mar  its  future. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  next  four  chapters  to 
make  clear  the  part  played  by  each  of  the 
principal  factors. 


47 


CHAPTER  II 

HISTORICAL  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  MODERN  SOCIAL 
PROBLEM 

^RADITION  plays  a  great  part  in  the 
development  of  human  society.  Knowl- 
edge, ideas,  and  valuations,  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  make  the  conti- 
nuity of  the  social  life  on  its  spiritual  side.24 
They  largely  make  the  "subjective  environ- 
ment" of  the  developing  individual,  and  so 
largely  control  his  social  development.  Tradi- 
tion thus  enters  into  every  social  situation. 
The  economic  determinists  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding,  the  spiritual  elements  in 
human  society  have  a  history  of  their  own. 
That  history  is  so  important  that  no  problem 
in  existing  social  life  can  be  understood  apart 

24  For  an  admirable  discussion  of  the  importance  of 
"tradition"  in  the  social  life,  see  Hobhouse,  Social 
Evolution  and  Political  Theory,  pp.  33-38. 

48 


HISTORICAL    ELEMENTS 

from  its  rootage  in  social  tradition.  This  it 
is  which  makes  history  one  of  the  chief  meth- 
ods of  the  social  sciences.  Until  we  know 
something  of  the  history  of  the  ideas  and  ideals 
which  make  our  civilization  what  it  is,  it  is 
fatuous  to  think  that  we  have  any  scientific 
understanding  of  the  social  problem  of  the 
present. 

It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  in  attempt- 
ing some  slight  analysis  of  the  traditional  ele- 
ments which  enter  into  our  problem,  to  go 
back  to  the  very  beginnings  of  human  history, 
even  though  it  were  possible  to  do  so.  Doubt- 
less it  is  within  the  fields  of  cultural  anthropol- 
ogy and  primitive  history  that  the  earliest  be- 
ginnings of  the  things  which  we  are  about  to 
discuss  must  be  sought.  It  would  not  be 
difficult,  for  example,  to  show  how  man,  as  he 
has  gradually  risen  into  the  higher  stages  of 
culture,  has  carried  with  him  many  of  the 
traditions  of  the  savage  and  barbarian  periods 
of  development.  In  a  sense,  civilization  is 
still  very  young.  Even  in  the  material  things 

of  life  man  left  the  stone  age  behind  but  yes- 

49 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

terday,  while  in  spiritual  things  he  still  lingers 
in  it.  The  social  and  moral  traditions  of 
savagery  and  barbarism,  in  other  words,  still 
survive  among  us.  They  are  not  only  a  source 
of  maladjustments  and  evils  in  present  society, 
but,  aided  by  the  animal  instincts  of  human 
nature,  they  forever  threaten  to  carry  us  back 
to  the  barbarism  from  which  we  have  but  just 
emerged.  Humanity  must,  of  course,  become 
de-barbarized  before  it  can  become  truly  civi- 
lized. The  amazing  thing  in  this  twentieth 
century  is,  not  that  the  snake  dance  survives 
among  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico, 
but  that  so  many  barbarisms  survive  even 
among  the  most  advanced  Western  peoples. 

This  feature  of  the  social  problem,  however, 
we  do  not  propose  further  to  discuss.  Our 
purpose  in  the  present  chapter  is  rather  to 
make  an  analysis  of  the  immediate  sources  of 
Western  civilization;  to  find  out  what  its  im- 
mediate predecessors  have  contributed  to  it, 
and  what  new  forces  it  has  generated  within 
itself. 

We  must  remember,  first  of  all,  that  Western 
50 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

civilization  is  a  hybrid  affair;  that  it  is  made 
up  of  elements  derived  from  many  sources. 
We  are  frequently  told  that  modern  civiliza- 
tion is  a  continuation  of  the  civilization  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  and  this,  we  shall  see,  is 
true  in  no  superficial  sense.  However,  the 
cultures  of  two  other  ancient  peoples  have 
profoundly  affected  our  own.  These  peoples 
were  the  Hebrews  and  the  ancient  Teutonic 
tribes.  From  the  Hebrews,  indeed,  we  get 
the  things  most  intimately  connected  with 
our  social  ideals — our  ethics  and  our  religion. 
Nominally,  at  least,  Western  civilization  ac- 
cepts Hebrew  ethics  and  religion  still  to-day 
as  its  standard,  though  there  are  not  want- 
ing signs  which  indicate  that  whole  classes  in 
our  population  are  on  the  point  of  throwing 
off  even  nominal  allegiance  to  this  standard. 

Whatever  the  scientific  student  of  culture 
may  think  of  Hebrew  ethics  and  religion,  he 
must  acknowledge  the  conquest  of  the  Western 
world  by  Hebrew  ethical  and  religious  ideas 
and  ideals  to  be  one  of  the  most  wonderful 

phenomena  of  recorded  history.    The  Western 

51 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

world  did  not  accept  the  God  of  the  Jews 
because  the  Jews  held  any  sort  of  material 
or  spiritual  supremacy  in  the  ancient  world. 
It  is  notorious  that  they  were  a  feeble  and 
despised  people.  Some  historians  and  social 
philosophers  have  sought  to  explain  the  spread 
of  their  religious  and  ethical  ideas  by  suppos- 
ing that  these  ideas  became  greatly  modified, 
if  not  entirely  changed,  through  contact  with 
Greek  civilization;  and  that  it  was  the  Greek 
element  in  Christianity  which  really  made  it 
acceptable  to  the  Western  world.  Without 
entering  upon  this  controversy,  it  will  suffice 
for  our  purpose  to  point  out  that  modern 
scholarship  finds  nothing  in  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  which  is  not  to  be  found  implicit,  at 
least,  in  the  teachings  of  the  later  Jewish 
prophets.25  This  Jesus  himself  recognized.  His 
work  must,  indeed,  be  considered  the  logical 
culmination  of  their  work.  If  we  distinguish 
Christianity  sharply  from  the  dogmas  that 

25  Professor  Santayana  aptly  characterizes  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  as  "pure  Hebraism  reduced  to  its  spiritual 
essence."  Reason  and  Religion,  p.  84. 

52 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

early  grew  up  within  the  Church,  the  relation 
of  Christianity  to  Judaism  will  be  seen  to  be 
not  different  from  that  of  the  full-blown  rose 
to  its  bud.28  The  Graco-Roman  world  doubt- 
less furnished  the  proper  environmental  con- 
ditions which  favoured  this  development,  but 
when  we  analyze  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  we 
find  them  Jewish  to  the  core,  even  though 
they  had  burst  the  bonds  of  Jewish  particu- 
larism. Hebrew  religion  and  ethics  thus  be- 
came nominally  accepted  by  the  Western 
world  with  the  acceptance  of  Christianity. 

There  seems  to  be  but  one  rational  explana- 
tion of  the  spread  of  these  Jewish  ideas,  and 
that  is,  the  transcendent  genius  of  the  ancient 
Jews  in  ethical  and  religious  matters.27  As 

*The  work  of  the  "apocalyptic"  scholars,  such  as 
Dr.  R.  H.  Charles  of  Oxford,  has  shown  that  there  were 
no  "silent  centuries"  between  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments,  but  continuous  development.  See  Charles, 
Between  Hie  Old  and  the  New  Testaments. 

27  "  Ethical "  and  "  religious "  are,  of  course,  here 
used  in  their  specialized  sense,  not  as  including  the 
legal,  the  political,  the  intellectual,  the  artistic, 
etc. 

53 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

one  writer  has  put  it,  "They  alone  were  sober, 
when  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world  were 
drunk."  Their  ethical  and  religious  concep- 
tions have  conquered  the  world  because  of 
their  inherent  truthfulness  and  social  useful- 
ness. Let  it  be  remarked  that  it  is  no  more 
absurd  to  acknowledge  the  preeminence  of 
the  Hebrews  along  ethical  and  religious  lines 
than  to  acknowledge  the  preeminence  of  the 
Greeks  along  artistic  lines.  Ethics  and  reli- 
gion are  indeed  much  more  intimately  related 
to  life  and  conduct  than  art.  The  values 
which  they  represent  have  more  immediate 
relation  to  everyday  social  life.  Because  they 
are  so  necessary  for  social  survival  and  de- 
velopment, it  does  not  surprise  the  student  of 
social  evolution  to  find  that  ethical  and  reli- 
gious concepts  should  have  attained  a  high 
development  earlier  than  scientific  or  even 
artistic  ideas. 

Just  why  this  high  development  of  ethical 
and  religious  concepts  took  place  among  the 
Jews  rather  than  among  some  other  ancient 

people  is  not  difficult  to  understand  as  soon 

54 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

as  we  consider  their  social  life.  When  the 
Jews  first  appeared  in  history,  probably  no 
less  than  a  full  millennium  of  Semitic  civiliza- 
tion already  lay  behind  them.28  They  were 
perhaps  able  to  profit  from  the  mistakes  of 
their  Semitic  predecessors,  as  their  own  writers 
so  often  inform  us.  They  developed  a  simple, 
pastoral  life  in  which  the  patriarchal  family 
was  the  unit  of  their  society.  Many  writers, 
following  Renan,  have  ascribed  Jewish  mono- 
theism to  their  geographic  environment;  but 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  such  a  theory  is 
absurd.  As  soon  as  we  consider  their  social 
organization,  and  especially  the  part  which 
the  family  played  in  that  organization,  the 
reasons  for  their  ethical  and  religious  concep- 
tions become  clear.29  All  their  religious  and 
ethical  concepts  are  based  upon  the  family, 

28  See   Professor   J.    L.    Myres'   Dawn   of  History, 
Chapter  V. 

29  For  the  ideas  in  the  remainder  of  this  paragraph 
the  writer  is  indebted  to  Professor  J.  F.  MacCurdy's 
work:  History,  Prophecy  and  the  Monuments,  or  Israel 
among  the  Nations,  Vol.  II,  especially  Chapters  II  and 
III. 

55 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

and  are  really  at  bottom  merely  an  idealiza- 
tion and  projection  of  the  values  connected 
with  the  family  life.  God  was  thought  of  by 
them  as  a  father,  men  as  his  children,  and 
therefore  brothers.  All  the  phraseology  of  the 
later  prophets  especially  was  borrowed  from 
the  domestic  and  social  life.  It  was,  in  a 
word,  the  superior  unity  and  harmony  of  the 
social  life  of  the  ancient  Jews,  especially  of 
their  family  life,  which  produced  their  superior 
ethical  and  religious  conceptions.  As  a  conse- 
quence, both  their  ethics  and  religion  were 
preeminently  social,  even  though  at  first  nar- 
rowly national.  They  thought  of  the  moral 
ideal,  not  as  something  subjective  and  in- 
dividualistic, but  as  the  harmony  of  an  ideal 
social  group,  especially  as  the  love  and  service 
of  an  enlarged  family.  When  these  concep- 
tions were  universalized  by  the  later  prophets 
and  by  Jesus,  they  became  social  in  a  broader 
sense,  that  is,  humanitarian.30  Social  develop- 

30  For  the  full  justification  of  this  preliminary 
identification  of  the  ethics  of  Jesus  and  humanitarian 
ethics,  see  the  later  pages  of  this  Chapter  and  also 

53 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

ments  in  the  Grseco-Roman  world  had  in  the 
meantime  done  much  to  prepare  the  world  for 
the  acceptance  of  such  ideas  and  ideals,  and 
hence  they  were  the  more  readily  taken  up  by 
the  whole  Western  world. 

To  put  it  from  a  somewhat  different  stand- 
point, the  peculiar  merit  of  Jewish  ethics  was 
that  it  blended  religion  and  morality,  resting 
both  of  these  upon  an  ideal  projection  of  the 
values  of  the  family  life.  This  gave  a  deeper 
meaning  to  morality  and  religion  as  well  as 
to  the  social  life.  At  first  the  resulting  moral 
conceptions  were  doubtless  crude  and  narrow; 
but  gradually  through  the  course  of  Hebrew 
history  they  become  more  spiritual,  and,  at 
length,  were  universalized  in  the  later  prophets 
and  in  Christianity.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
religion  of  the  Greeks  was  so  nearly  unmoral 
that  their  ethical  leaders,  Socrates  and  Plato, 
saw  no  chance  of  promoting  ideal  social  ethics 
through  Greek  religion.  The  divorce  of  ethics 
from  religion  seemed  to  them  absolutely  neces- 

Chapter  V.  Christianity  as  a  religion  is,  of  course, 
something  more  than  mere  humanitarianism. 

57 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

sary  for  the  progress  of  morality.  But  the 
later  religionless  systems  of  Greek  ethics 
proved  largely  sterile,  for  they  became  current 
only  to  a  limited  degree  or  in  degraded  forms. 
Thus  Jewish  ethics,  combining  the  theistic 
and  the  moral  ideas — thus  kindling  morality 
with  religious  emotion — and  resting  both 
upon  the  social  life,  was  alone  among  ancient 
systems  fitted  to  survive  and  to  spread  over 
Western  civilization,  though  this  was  facili- 
tated by  the  existence  of  such  systems  as 
Platonism  and  Stoicism. 

Now,  if  it  is  true  that  we  have  received  our 
religious  and  ethical  standards  from  the  an- 
cient Jews,  then  we  must  no  longer  give  the 
Greeks  the  place  of  honour  for  having  made 
the  most  important  contribution  to  Western 
civilization,  but  must  give  that  place  to  the 
Hebrews.  For,  as  we  have  implied,  religion 
and  ethics  so  intimately  embody  the  ideals 
and  values  of  social  life  that  they  must  be 
considered  the  chief  carriers  of  civilization. 
Hebrew  religion  and  ethics  did  not,  however, 

find  a  clear  field.    In  expanding,  these  crea- 

58 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

tions  of  Hebrew  culture  entered  a  world  filled 
with  many  hostile  traditions  and  with  many 
practices  that  were  entirely  inconsistent  with 
their  principles.  Hebrew  civilization,  there- 
fore, contributed  but  one  element,  though  a 
very  important  one,  in  our  civilization.  From 
the  first,  the  other  elements  in  Western  civili- 
zation have  threatened  to  engulf  the  Jewish 
ethical  and  religious  tradition. 

While  we  cannot  regard  the  Greeks  as  hav- 
ing made  the  most  important  contribution  to 
Western  civilization,  we  must  acknowledge 
that  Greek  traditions  have  in  many  ways  been 
very  influential.  In  two  lines  of  human  ac- 
tivity— the  artistic  and  the  philosophic — they 
were  as  preeminent  as  the  Hebrews  in  religion 
and  ethics,  and  have  set  the  standard  for  the 
modern  world.  The  Greeks  must  be  especially 
credited  with  intellectual  and  aesthetic  genius. 
In  art  not  only  were  they  preeminent  among 
ancient  peoples,  but  their  artistic  sense  domi- 
nated their  whole  life.  This  is  the  secret  at 
once  of  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of 

the  Greek  ideal  of  life.    They  saw  everything 

59 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

in  terms  of  beauty.  Their  religion  was  a 
religion  of  beauty;  and  their  ethics  partook  of 
the  same  character.  Their  ideal  of  life  was, 
in  a  word,  to  be  "artists  in  living." 

Greek  ethics,  accordingly,  was  largely  sub- 
jective and  individualistic  in  character.31  To 
be  sure,  the  best  of  their  ethical  thought  was 
essentially  social,  as  Plato's  development  of 
the  idea  of  justice  in  the  Republic.  But  the 
ethical  ideals  of  Plato,  Aristotle  and  even 
the  later  Stoics,  as  we  have  seen,  appealed 
only  to  the  select  few.  The  Sophists  and  the 
Epicureans,  on  the  other  hand,  who  must 
be  regarded  as,  on  the  whole,  truly  voicing 
the  Greek  ideal  of  life,  put  forth  essentially 

31  "Individualistic"  in  the  sense  that  they  thought 
of  the  criterion  of  conduct  as  within  the  individual, 
whereas  the  Hebrews  thought  of  the  criterion  of  con- 
duct as  quite  objective  to  the  individual — "in  the  will 
of  God."  Systems  of  subjective  ethics  are,  of  course, 
to  be  found  at  a  much  earlier  date  in  India,  but  these 
did  not  affect  Western  civilization.  The  usual  state- 
ment found  in  text  books  that  Greek  ethics  were  objec- 
tive in  character  is  based  upon  a  somewhat  one-sided 
view  of  the  systems  of  Plato  and  Aristotle. 

60 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

individualistic  ethical  ideals.  They  taught 
an  ethics  of  self-realization,  asserting  either 
that  self-development  was  the  goal  of  life  or 
that  individual  happiness  was  the  summum 
bonum,  both  agreeing  that  enlightened  self- 
interest  was  the  guide  of  life.  Individualistic 
and  subjective  standards  in  ethics,  therefore, 
originated  with  the  Greeks,  and  the  total 
influence  of  Greek  ethical  tradition  upon  our 
own  has  been  to  exalt  the  self-culture  and 
happiness  ideals  of  life.  How  these  ideals 
worked  out  in  Greek  society  itself,  history 
fully  records.  Almost  from  the  first  Grecian 
civilization  was  corrupt,  and  at  length  in 
certain  of  its  features  it  became  degraded 
beyond  belief.32 

Yet  Greek  ethical  ideals  have  had  a  pro- 
found influence  upon  the  modern  world. 

82  For  the  opposite  view  of  Greek  history,  see  A.  E. 
Zimmerri  j.  -r—  The  Greek  Commonwealth.  This  writer's 
glorification  of  Greek  society,  however,  is  hardly  borne 
out  by  the  later  developments  of  Greek  history,  and  is, 
indeed,  obtained  only  by  glossing  over  the  patent  de- 
fects of  Greek  character. 

61 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

This  has  been  partly  due  to  the  tradition  that 
classical  culture  must  be  made  the  foundation 
of  all  our  higher  education  in  college  and 
university;  but  even  more  it  has  been  due  to 
the  fact  that  modern  philosophy  has  constantly 
turned  back  to  Greek  philosophy  for  inspira- 
tion and  guidance.  Traditionally  ethics  in 
the  modern  world  has  been  a  part  of  philos- 
ophy, and  modern  philosophy  finds  itself 
rooted  in  Greek  philosophy.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising, therefore,  that  our  educated  classes 
have  quite  as  often  followed  after  the  Greek 
ideal  of  life  as  after  the  Hebrew-Christian 
ideal.  However,  as  we  shall  see  later,  the 
fact  that  large  masses  in  present  society  are 
more  held  by  the  Graco-Roman  ideal  of  life 
than  by  the  Hebrew-Christian,  is  to  be  ex- 
plained, perhaps,  not  so  much  through  the 
influence  of  tradition,  or  even  through  the 
example  set  by  many  in  the  cultured  classes, 
as  through  original  human  nature  and  the 
immediate  conditions  of  modern  life. 

To  the  Greeks,  too,  we  must  not  forget  we 

owe  the  beginnings  of  the  scientific  investi- 

62 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

gation  of  nature  and  of  human  society.  That 
freedom  of  the  intellect  which  is  necessary  for 
the  development  of  speculative  thought  and 
scientific  research  first  found  extensive  realiza- 
tion in  Greek  society.  The  philosophic- 
scientific  tradition  was,  then,  firmly  estab- 
lished in  Western  civilization  by  the  Greeks, 
and  to  them  those  who  have  been  concerned 
with  the  development  of  that  tradition  have 
ever  turned  for  renewal  of  inspiration.  This 
was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  of  all  the  contribu- 
tions of  the  Greeks  to  modern  civilization, 
although  their  art  reached  relatively  a  much 
higher  level  of  development  than  their  science 
and  philosophy. 

We  owe  to  the  Greeks,  then,  our  artistic 
and  intellectual  traditions  in  Western  civiliza- 
tion; and,  incidentally,  through  these  Greek 
influence  has  had  not  a  little  to  do  with  our 
ethics  and  our  social  life  generally.  Another 
ancient  people,  however,  gave  us  our  tradi- 
tions in  government  and  law.  That  people 
was  the  Romans,  who,  on  account  of  their 

extensive  conquests,  were  compelled  to  de- 

63 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

velop  the  machinery  of  government  and  law 
to  a  point  which  the  world  had  never  before 
known.  Essentially  a  military  and  warlike 
people,  with  their  standards  in  ethics,  re- 
ligion, philosophy,  and  art  but  little  developed 
above  the  level  of  barbarism,  their  genius 
for  political  and  legal  organization  laid  the 
foundations  for  all  modern  government  and 
legal  institutions.  To  see  how  extensively 
Roman  tradition  affects  government  at  the 
present  time,  we  have  only  to  note  how  the 
names  of  rulers  and  officials  are  still  those 
which  Rome  gave.  Roman  law,  though  rel- 
atively late  in  its  full  development,  has  been 
the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all  the  care- 
fully trained  lawyers  in  the  modern  world, 
and,  as  is  well  known,  the  legal  systems  of 
many  countries  of  continental  Europe  still 
rest  directly  upon  the  Roman  code.  While  in 
English-speaking  countries  legal  systems  and 
institutions  are  supposed  to  rest  upon  a  more 
or  less  mythical  English  Common  Law,33 

33  The  term  "mythical"  is  applied  to  the  English 
Common  Law  to  which  modern  courts  and  jurists  so 

64 


HISTORICAL    ELEMENTS 

yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  axioms, 
principles,  and  forms  of  Roman  law  have  also 
powerfully  influenced  the  law  of  English- 
speaking  peoples.  In  this  way  Rome  gave  to 
the  modern  world  the  governmental  and  legal 
framework  of  its  institutional  and  social  life. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  very  fact  that 
Rome  was  a  militant  and  conquering  nation, 
aiming  at  the  domination  by  force  of  all  the 
known  world,  has  been  responsible  for  some 
of  the  most  unfortunate  traditions  in  Western 
civilization.  Modern  militaristic  and  im- 
perialistic traditions  represent  a  direct  con- 
tinuity with  those  of  Rome.  The  keeping 
of  standing  armies,  for  example,  was  first 
advocated  in  modern  times  by  Machiavelli, 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  because  of  his  ad- 
miration of  the  methods  of  Rome.  Again, 
the  modern  idea  of  ceaseless  expansion  as  the 
condition  of  national  life  and  health  was  a 
conclusion  which  Machiavelli  drew  directly 
from  his  study  of  Roman  history.  Even 

often  make  appeal.    There  actually  existed,  of  course, 
a  body  of  Anglo-Saxon  customs  and  traditions. 

65 


THE   SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

Nietzsche,  with  his  doctrine  that  "might  is 
right,"  received  his  inspiration  far  more  from 
his  classical  studies  than  from  any  misin- 
terpretation of  Darwinism.  The  Roman  Em- 
pire rested  essentially  upon  the  predatory 
use  of  brute  force,  upon  the  subjugation  and 
exploitation  of  weaker  peoples,  with  scarcely 
anything  beyond  the  merely  selfish  aim  of 
world  dominion.  It  may  well  be  doubted 
whether  any  set  of  traditions  in  the  modern 
world  has  caused  so  much  human  misery 
and  suffering  as  the  Roman  tradition.  At 
any  rate,  Greece,  with  its  sensuous  aestheti- 
cism,  and  Rome,  with  its  brutal,  predatory 
militarism,  have  been  prime  corrupters  of 
modern  civilization — apart,  of  course,  from 
any  consideration  of  the  brute-like  instincts 
of  human  nature  and  the  survival  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  barbarism  among  all  peoples. 

But  still  another  ancient  people  must  be 
mentioned  as  having  made  at  least  a  consider- 
able contribution  to  the  original  traditions  of 
Western  civilization.  This  people  was  the 

ancient  Germans.    It  has  been  said  that  they 

66 


HISTORICAL    ELEMENTS 

contributed  nothing  to  modern  civilization 
except  the  men  and  women  who  developed  it. 
However,  this  seems  to  the  writer  a  mistake. 
One  strong  tradition  among  us  is  certainly 
rooted  in  the  life  of  the  ancient  Teutonic 
tribesmen ;  and  that  is  the  tradition  of  individ- 
ual liberty.  The  North  Europeans  for  many 
reasons  never  developed  in  antiquity  highly  or- 
ganized authoritative  societies,  but  remained 
largely  in  a  state  of  primitive  democracy  with 
simple  industries  and  little  slavery.  The  tra- 
dition of  individual  liberty  among  them  was 
accordingly  kept  very  strong  and  was,  accord- 
ing to  all  observers,  one  of  their  chief  traits. 
Although  later  these  Teutonic  tribesmen  were 
subjected  to  Roman  authority,  yet  there  is 
abundant  evidence  in  both  early  German  and 
early  English  history  to  show  that  the  tradi- 
tion of  individual  liberty  continued  among 
them  practically  uninterrupted;  and  to  the 
continuance  of  this  tradition  among  us  we 
owe  many  of  the  outstanding  features  of  West- 
ern civilization.  It  is  largely  at  the  basis,  for 

example,  of  that  ideal  of  a  free  social  life  which 

67 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

has  been  one  of  the  distinguishing  traits  of  the 
civilization  of  the  English-speaking  peoples, 
and  which  has  come  to  be  shared  by  the  great 
majority  of  Western  peoples. 

But  if  the  Teutonic  tradition  of  individual 
liberty  is  responsible  for  much  of  the  best  in 
the  development  of  modern  civilization,  it  is 
equally  certain  that  in  some  ways  it  has  been 
extremely  detrimental.  The  level  of  culture 
in  the  early  Germanic  tribesmen  was  extremely 
low.  They  were  often  pirates  and  freebooters. 
Their  tradition  of  liberty  was  mixed  up  with 
predatory  customs,  and  it  has  remained  so  to 
this  day.  It  is  not  simply  the  biological  fact 
that  we  of  North  European  blood  are  descend- 
ants of  pirate  ancestors  which  makes  our 
civilization  of  a  more  or  less  ruthless  character, 
but  even  more  the  spiritual  fact  that  we  have 
preserved  from  primitive  times  the  tradition  of 
might  being  right,  and  of  predatory  individual 
habits.  The  Teutonic  love  of  liberty,  in  other 
words,  has  tended  at  times  to  become  a  tradi- 
tion of  individual  license. 

At  this  point,  perhaps,  the  reader  may  ex- 
68 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

pect  a  lengthy  discussion  of  the  influence  of 
the  rise  of  Christianity  upon  Western  civiliza- 
tion. But  as  we  have  already  shown,  Chris- 
tianity, in  the  sense  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 
must  be  regarded  essentially  as  a  development 
of  Hebrew  culture,  in  contact,  of  course,  with 
other  surrounding  cultures,  especially  the 
Graeco-Roman.  However,  at  the  time  of  Jesus' 
birth,  Hebrew  ethics,  religion,  and  social  life, 
were  far  from  realizing  the  teachings  of  the 
later  prophets,  but  had  actually  tended  to 
degenerate,  both  Church  and  State  being  in 
the  hands  of  powerful  reactionary  parties. 
Jewish  particularism  and  formalism  again 
made  their  appearance  and  cast  their  blighting 
influence  upon  ethics  and  religion.  But  the 
soul  of  Jesus  rose  superior  to  this  ebb-tide  in 
national  religion  and  morals.  Instead  of  going 
with  the  current,  he  boldly  set  his  face  against 
it,  and  proclaimed  himself  the  Messiah  fore- 
told by  the  prophets,  sent  to  redeem  Israel  and 
to  establish  her  spiritual  supremacy  among 
the  nations.  He  preached  the  coming  of  a 

social  order  in  which  God's  will  should  be  real- 

69 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

ized,  the  "Kingdom  of  God";  and  revolution- 
ized social  ethics  by  declaring  that  .the  service 
of  God  consisted  in  the  service  of  humanity. 
Jesus  and  his  followers  among  the  Jews  must, 
therefore,  be  regarded  as  heading  a  progressive 
movement  in  Jewish  civilization  which,  while 
it  pointed  back  to  the  tradition  of  the  later 
prophets,  looked  forward  to  the  carrying  of 
their  ethical  and  religious  ideals  to  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth.  So,  too,  the  early  Christian 
Church  must  be  regarded  largely  as  a  social 
reform  party  within  the  Roman  Empire,  where 
Stoicism  and  Epicureanism  at  their  best  had 
failed  to  mitigate  the  increasing  inhumanities 
of  a  complex  civilization  resting  upon  brute- 
force  and  the  predatory  exploitation  of  classes 
and  peoples. 

We  must  regard  Christianity,  then,  as  an 
expansion  of  the  Hebrew  tradition,  one  which 
burst  the  shell  of  Jewish  hyper-nationalism 
and  made  its  message  one  to  humanity  as  a 
whole.  In  this  process  the  concepts  and  values 
of  Jewish  religion  and  ethics  inevitably  be- 
came universalized  and  humanized,  but  they 

70 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

remained,  nevertheless,  essentially  Jewish.  We 
should  not  forget,  however,  that  it  was  the 
transcendent  personality  of  Jesus  which  made 
possible  this  marvellous  result.  Nothing  great 
is  achieved  in  human  society,  as  we  have  al- 
ready said,  without  personal  leadership;  and 
this  is  only  one  illustration  out  of  many  which 
might  be  selected  from  history  to  show  how 
traditions  become  intensified  and  transformed, 
either  idealized  or  degraded,  by  passing 
through  some  masterful  personality.  The 
creative  influence  of  personality  can  never  be 
safely  left  out  of  account  in  sociology  there- 
fore, even  though  for  the  sake  of  brevity  we 
may  often  have  to  omit  explicit  reference  to 
it  in  discussing  large  historical  movements. 
It  is  net  inconsistent  to  say,  then,  that  while 
the  influence  of  Christianity  as  a  system  of 
ideals  in  Western  civilization  is  largely  the 
continued  influence  of  Hebrew  tradition,  it  is 
also  the  continued  influence  of  the  personality 
of  Jesus. 

It  ought  to  be  needless  to  remark  that  the 

traditions  of  the  four  ancient  civilizations  just 

71 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

discussed,  which  have  formed  the  basis  of  our 
own,  have  not  always  harmoniously  blended. 
Hebrew  ethics  and  religion  have  not  always 
fitted  in  well  with  Greek  philosophy  and  art, 
Roman  government  and  law,  and  Teutonic 
individualism.  Indeed,  the  conflict  of  ideas 
and  ideals  in  modern  life  springs  in  no  small 
measure  from  these  inharmonious  traditions 
which  were  originally  united  to  form  the  main 
current  of  European  civilization.  To  be  sure, 
it  was  the  task  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  blend 
and  synthesize  into  an  harmonious  whole  these 
varying  traditions.  Under  the  leadership  of 
the  medieval  Church,  Hebrew  religion,  Greek 
philosophy,  and  Roman  government  and  law 
were  in  one  way  or  another  made  to  work 
peaceably  together,  while  Teutonic  individual- 
ism was  in  the  main  sternly  repressed.  The 
admirers  of  the  medieval  ages  have  indeed 
represented  that  period  as  one  of  wonderful 
organic  unity;  but  that  that  unity  was  un- 
stable and  deceptive,  and  not  a  true  synthesis 
of  the  discordant  elements,  is  witnessed  by 

continued   conflicts   throughout   the   Middle 

72 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

Ages  among  the  different  traditions,  and  in  the 
final  breakdown  of  medieval  civilization,  and 
the  rebirth  of  Paganism  in  the  Renaissance. 
The  Renaissance  was,  indeed,  in  one  aspect 
simply  the  re-awaking  of  the  traditions  of 
classic  Greece  and  Rome  to  their  full  strength 
in  Western  civilization,  and  it  at  once  made 
evident  their  conflict  with  the  Hebrew- 
Christian  tradition.34  From  the  Renaissance 
period  onward  it  has  been  difficult  to  say  which 
of  the  conflicting  traditions  in  question  has 
been  predominant.  The  modern  world  has 
certainly  had  no  better  success  in  obtaining 
a  true  synthesis  of  these  conflicting  traditions 
than  the  medieval  world.  On  the  whole, 
however,  since  the  Renaissance,  the  tradi- 
tions of  Greek  and  Roman  civilization  have 
been  uppermost  among  European  peoples. 

To  add  still  further  confusion,  modern 
civilization  has  generated  within  itself  certain 

84  As  Professor  Santayana  says :  "  The  ideal  of  the 
Renaissance  was  to  restore  pagan  standards  in  polite 
learning,  in  philosophy,  in  sentiment,  in  morals." 
The  Winds  of  Doctrine,  p.  38. 

73 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

new  forces  which,  though  based  upon  the 
traditions  of  ancient  civilization,  yet  are  very 
far  from  being  harmonious  with  them  or  even 
among  themselves.  Hence  at  the  present 
time  we  witness  not  merely  the  conflict  of 
the  inconsistent  traditions  of  four  ancient  cul- 
tures, but  also  the  development  of  certain  new 
movements  within  modern  civilization  itself, 
which  have  as  yet  far  from  reached  their  final 
development. 

The  first  of  these  great  modern  movements 
is  the  rise  of  individualism  and  its  obverse, 
the  decline  of  authority.  This  movement,  to 
be  sure,  was  rooted  in  the  Teutonic  tradition 
of  individual  liberty,  to  which  the  Renaissance 
gave  a  rebirth.  The  earliest  manifestation  of 
this  movement  was  seen  in  the  Protestant 
Reformation,  which  must  now  be  acknowl- 
edged to  have  been  not  so  much  a  protest 
against  ecclesiastical  abuses  as  an  expression 
of  Teutonic  individualism,  and  a  revolt  against 
ecclesiastical  authority  of  any  sort.  The 
next  great  manifestation  of  rising  individual- 
ism was  in  the  Democratic  movement,  which 

74 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

had  its  earliest  beginnings  about  the  period 
of  the  Reformation,  but  which  culminated 
in  the  nineteenth  century  by  the  establish- 
ment of  popular  governments  among  most 
European  peoples. 

Along  with  these  emancipatory  movements 
in  Church  and  State,  there  gradually  grew 
up  an  extreme  individualistic  view  of  life. 
An  egoistic  theory  of  human  nature,  which 
claimed  that  men  never  acted  save  from  self- 
interest,  and  that  enlightened  self-interest 
was  therefore  the  best  guide  of  conduct,  be- 
came an  established  tradition  in  Western 
civilization.  The  State  and  even  the  more 
spontaneous,  natural  social  groups  came  to  be 
regarded  as  forms  of  contract.  The  good  of 
life,  however,  could  consist  only  in  the  pleas- 
ure, or  happiness,  of  individuals,  for  self- 
interest  could  aim  at  nothing  else.  The  in- 
evitable conclusion  therefore  was  that  in- 
stitutions could  and  should  be  changed  to 
suit  the  pleasure  of  individuals.  Such  extreme 
individualistic  views  necessarily  proved  revolu- 
tionary in  a  society  honey-combed  with  an- 

75 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

cient  abuses,  and  in  which  all  progressive 
reformation  of  the  social  order  had  been  re- 
sisted for  over  three  centuries;  the  result  was 
the  violent  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution. 

The  movement  to  emancipate  the  individual 
from  all  restrictions  of  authority  has  been 
supposed  by  some  to  have  reached  its  culmina- 
tion in  the  French  Revolution;  but  it  is  now 
hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  this  move- 
ment has  as  yet  far  from  spent  its  force.  The 
tradition  of  individualism  has  continued  to 
grow  in  Western  civilization  down  to  the 
present  moment.  The  decline  of  authority  in 
Church  and  State  is  still  steadily  proceeding, 
though  with  occasional  setbacks,  while  in- 
dividualism is  now  manifesting  itself  in  new 
realms,  such  as  the  family,  where  its  growth 
had  scarcely  been  anticipated.35 

Any  limit  of  the  individualistic  movement, 
short  of  sheer  anarchy,  is  indeed  hard  to 
discern  on  the  present  horizon  of  Western  civi- 
lization. Our  fathers  rightly  thought  that 

35  On  the  decline  of  authority,  see  Ferrero,  Ancient 
Rome  and  Modern  America,  p.  204. 

76 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

the  emancipation  of  the  human  spirit  was  one 
of  the  noblest  causes  to  which  men  could  de- 
vote themselves.  They  even  thought  that 
human  history  might  be  interpreted  as  such 
a  progressive  emancipation.  They  could 
scarcely  have  been  expected  to  foresee  that 
in  the  name  of  such  "emancipation"  indi- 
viduals would  demand  to  be  released  from  a 
well-ordered  and  stable  family  life,  that 
women  would  demand  to  be  emancipated 
even  from  the  natural  burdens  of  motherhood, 
and  that  some  men  would  demand  to  be  freed 
from  the  restraints  of  any  moral  code  whatso- 
ever. While,  therefore,  historically  the  in- 
dividualistic movement  has  conferred  some  of 
the  greatest  benefits  upon  Western  civiliza- 
tion, and  in  many  countries  has  still  much 
beneficent  work  to  do,  yet  it  must  be  judged 
at  the  same  time  as  perhaps  the  greatest 
menace  of  the  present  to  social  order,  and  so 
to  civilization. 

Partly  owing  to  the  freeing  of  the  individual, 

partly  owing  to  the  re-discovery  of  the  work 

77 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

of  the  Greeks,  science  also  entered  into  a  new 
life  in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance.  The 
scientific  movement,  which  then  started,  has 
been  the  second  great  force  which  has  shaped 
modern  civilization.  One  can  scarcely,  indeed, 
exaggerate  the  importance  of  this  movement, 
even  if  regarded  quite  in  its  spiritual  aspect; 
for  it  has  so  enlarged  man's  world,  so  broken 
up  the  foundations  of  old  beliefs,  that  men 
have  even  forgotten  that  there  is  such  a  force 
as  tradition  in  society.  Moreover,  it  has  given 
man  such  a  mastery  over  physical  nature 
that  it  has  enlarged  his  hopes  and  expectations 
for  the  present  life  beyond  even  the  dreams 
of  the  ancient  world.  This  has  been  more 
especially  true  of  the  later  developments  of 
modern  science;  for  after  harnessing  nature 
to  man's  use,  it  has  boldly  turned  its  attention 
to  man's  body  and  mind  and  has  proclaimed 
that  it  can  control  these  also.  Finally,  it  has 
turned  the  searchlight  of  its  criticism  upon 
human  institutions  and  social  organization, 
and  they  also  seem  destined  to  pass  under  its 

sway. 

78 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

Yet  again,  owing  largely  to  the  mistaken 
opposition  of  the  Church  to  scientific  research, 
science  has  tended  to  generate  some  socially 
negative  traditions  in  Western  civilization. 
It  has  tended  to  exclude  the  psychic  or  spirit- 
ual entirely  from  its  domain,  and  to  make  all 
its  interpretations  in  purely  physical  or  mech- 
anistic terms.  Thus  modern  science  has  come 
often  to  take  a  negative  attitude  toward 
many  of  the  higher  social  values,  and  this 
negative  attitude  has  as  a  rule  been  most 
pronounced  in  those  countries  in  which  the 
teachers  of  religion  have  most  opposed  science. 

Partly  as  a  result  of  the  emancipation  of 
the  individual  from  hampering  restrictions, 
partly  as  a  result  of  the  development  of  scien- 
tific knowledge,  a  revolution  took  place  in 
human  industry  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth centuries.36  The  industry  of  the  Middle 

36  For  a  good  general  survey  of  the  industrial  revolu- 
tion, see  Ely,  Evolution  of  Industrial  Society,  especially 
Chapter  III. 

79 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

Ages  had  been  carried  on  in  households  or  in 
small  shops  where  workmen  belonging  to  the 
same  guild  worked  together,  owning  very 
largely  their  tools  and  selling  the  products 
of  their  industry.  Under  such  conditions  the 
workman  received  practically  all  the  product 
of  his  labour,  and  he  was  free,  after  accepting 
the  law  of  the  land  and  the  requirements  of  his 
guild,  to  labour  as  he  chose.  But  these  primi- 
tive industrial  conditions  were  changed  as 
soon  as  machines  took  the  place  of  hand  la- 
bour toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries. 
Machines  were  relatively  costly  and  could 
not  be  owned  by  independent  labourers,  but 
had  to  be  owned  by  a  wealthy  class,  the  capi- 
talist class. 

Again,  great  factories  came  to  replace  small 
shops  because  it  was  economical  to  group  ma- 
chines and  labourers  together  in  one  large  plant. 
Thus  the  hand  industry  and  guild  industry  of 
later  medieval  times  came  to  be  replaced  by 
the  machine  industry  and  factory  system  of 

the  present  day.    While  there  was  great  gain 

80 


HISTORICAL    ELEMENTS 

to  society  at  large  in  all  this,  through  the  great 
increase  of  production  of  manufactured  ar- 
ticles, yet  there  was  a  considerable  loss  to  the 
labouring  man.  The  labouring  man  lost  espe- 
cially his  relative  freedom  and  independence. 
Owning  no  longer  the  tools  with  which  he 
worked  and  becoming  specialized  in  his  labour, 
he  seemed  but  little  more  than  a  cog  in  the 
vast  industrial  machine.  Hence  the  tendency 
of  capitalism  has  been  to  dehumanize  the  con- 
ditions under  which  the  labouring  man  works. 
Moreover,  while  capitalistic  industry  tended 
to  regard  the  individual  labourer  as  simply  a 
machine,  it  tended  also  to  make  the  individual 
labourer  himself,  rather  than  his  class  or  his 
family,  the  unit  in  production.  It  minimized 
the  differences  between  the  sexes  and  also 
between  children  and  adults.  Industrial  de- 
velopment thus  powerfully  reacted  to  promote 
individualism  still  further,  while  on  account 
of  its  dehumanizing  conditions  it  tended  at 
the  same  time  to  foster  materialistic  ideals  of 
life. 

A   further   consequence   of   the   industrial 
81 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

revolution  has  been  the  enormous  growth  of 
wealth  in  the  modern  world.  While  this  wealth 
has  not  been  adequately  shared  by  the  labour- 
ing classes  or  even  by  the  masses  generally,  a 
larger  portion  of  human  society  has  been 
emancipated  from  all  fear  of  want  than  ever 
before  in  human  history.  In  other  words,  the 
enormous  wealth  of  modern  times  has  stimu- 
lated luxury  and  self-indulgence  in  some 
classes  of  society  almost  beyond  belief.37  It 
has  made  it  possible  for  many  to  escape  from 
the  consequences  of  conduct  from  which  under 
more  primitive  social  conditions  they  could 
not  have  escaped.  The  development  of 
science,  especially  of  the  medical  sciences,  has 
also  placed  in  the  hands  of  our  wealthy  classes 
the  means  of  defying  to  a  certain  extent  physi- 
cal and  moral  laws. 

Finally,  our  industrial  system  has  tended, 
for  the  reasons  mentioned,  to  generate  an- 
tagonism between  economic  classes.  Class 
conflicts  have  been  an  increasingly  disturbing 

37  On  the  increase  of  luxury  in  modern  life,  see 
Ferrero,  Ancient  Rome  and  Modern  America,  p.  208. 

82 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

factor  in  our  social  order.  Class  interest  has 
become  too  much  a  war-cry  of  contending 
factions.  Worse  still,  a  tradition  of  class 
hatred  has  been  growing  up  within  Western 
nations,  sedulously  fostered  by  some  of  the 
non-privileged,  and  often  unwisely  stimulated 
by  the  privileged.  Thus  a  gulf,  not  only  in 
actual  conditions  of  life,  but  also  in  feeling, 
has  been  developing  between  the  socially  more 
fortunate  and  socially  less  fortunate — a  gulf 
which  the  sympathy  and  understanding  nec- 
essary for  social  solidarity  finds  it  difficult  to 
bridge.  The  tradition  of  the  solidarity  of 
class  threatens  to  strangle  the  tradition  of  the 
solidarity  of  humanity. 

Another  movement  which  must  be  men- 
tioned as  having  had  a  marked  effect  upon 
modern  civilization  is  the  so-called  "critical 
movement"  in  modern  thought,  though  it  is 
scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  extreme 
development  of  the  doctrine  of  individualism, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  scientific  thought,  on 

the  other.     Now,  public  criticism  is  a  part 

83 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

of  the  mechanism  of  social  growth.  It  is,  in- 
deed, the  very  breath  of  life  of  those  free  so- 
cieties in  which  change  is  rapid.38  But  criti- 
cism in  order  to  be  helpful  must  be  construc- 
tive. It  must  pick  out  from  the  old  situation 
and  conserve  whatever  is  of  value  in  building 
up  the  new  institution  or  order.  But  criticism, 
like  all  the  instruments  of  the  social  life,  is  apt 
to  go  to  an  extreme,  and  become  purely  de- 
structive and  negative.  Such  a  destructive 
criticism  attacked  in  the  nineteenth  century 
practically  all  the  institutions  and  values  of 
society.  Probably  the  chief  impetus  to  such 
criticism  were  abuses  in  the  existing  social 
order,  especially  those  upheld  by  the  Church 
and  the  State.  As  an  extreme  reaction  from 
these  abuses,  purely  negative  doctrines  regard- 
ing many  of  the  values  connected  with  religion, 
morality,  government,  and  the  family,  sprang 
up  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries, 
and  became  widely  diffused  in  certain  classes. 
Hence  the  origin  of  that  "social  negativism" 

88  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  pp.  152-4; 
334-8. 

84 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

which  we  have  already  spoken  of  as  the  most 
ominous  and  threatening  thing  on  the  present 
horizon  of  Western  civilization.  For,  while 
criticism  began  with  the  noble  work  of  freeing 
man  from  superstition  and  exploitation,  it  has 
ended  in  such  absolute  social  negations  as  the 
amoralism  of  Nietzsche  and  the  exaltation  of 
violence  by  Syndicalism.  Thus  a  tradition  of 
"moral  anarchy"  has  gradually  been  estab- 
lished and  tolerated  in  Western  nations,  a 
condition  which,  if  sanity  and  like-mindedness 
play  the  part  in  maintaining  social  order  usu- 
ally ascribed  to  them  by  sociologists,  must  be 
held  responsible  for  much  of  the  social  disorder 
of  the  present,  and  which  may  yet  ultimately 
prove  destructive  of  all  the  higher  values  of 
civilization. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  later  eighteenth 
and  through  the  whole  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, there  took  place  a  steady  revival  of  hu- 
manitarianism,  and  the  hopeful  rise  of  many 
humanitarian  movements.  This  may  rea- 
sonably be  ascribed  in  large  measure  to  a  fuller 

85 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

appreciation  of  the  social  implications  of  the 
ethics  of  the  religion  which  had  been  nominally 
accepted  by  Western  nations  for  over  a  mil- 
lennium; but  it  was  also  in  part  due  to  the 
emancipation  of  the  masses,  to  increasing 
knowledge  of  humanity,  to  scientific  invention 
and  discovery,  and  to  the  increasing  economic 
inter-dependence  of  the  world  at  large.  The 
humanitarianism  of  the  nineteenth  century 
was,  to  be  sure,  often  superficial,  inconsistent, 
fitful,  and  purely  emotional;  but  it  freed  the 
slave,  emancipated  woman,  educated  the 
masses,  organized  public  and  private  philan- 
thropy, tried  to  suppress  the  liquor  traffic, 
to  carry  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  to  the 
heathen  world,  and  even  to  put  an  end  to  war 
between  nations.  Other  movements  of  the 
nineteenth  century  which  we  have  mentioned 
must  be  regarded  as  having  limits  and  perhaps 
necessarily  both  good  and  bad  sides.  But  the 
humanitarian  movement,  if  it  can  be  purged 
of  its  weaknesses  and  allied  with  humanistic 
science,  alone  promises  the  unlimited,  peace- 
ful, all-round  development  of  humanity  in 

86 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

the  future.  It  was  the  most  precious  tradition 
which  the  nineteenth  century  bequeathed  to 
the  twentieth. 

On  account  of  all  these  factors  and  many 
minor  ones,  the  nineteenth  century  was  a 
century  of  great  social  change  and  unrest. 
While  it  was  the  most  progressive  century  in 
recorded  human  history,  yet  it  failed  on  the 
whole  to  develop  a  constructive  social  pro- 
gramme. If  any  ideals  dominated  it,  they 
were  the  ideals  of  individual  liberty  and  ma- 
terial achievement.  But  these  ideals,  we  are 
now  beginning  to  see,  are  almost  wholly  nega- 
tive in  their  implications  for  the  higher  social 
life  of  man.  When  taken  as  ends  in  them- 
selves, they  tend  to  degenerate  into  that  in- 
dividualism and  materialism  which  threaten 
the  very  stability  of  Western  civilization  itself. 

It  should  be  unnecessary  to  add  that  the 
peculiar  features  of  modern  civilization  have 
been  greatly  exaggerated  in  the  social  life  of 

the  American  people.     Upon  the  virgin  soil 

87 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

of  the  New  World  the  seeds  of  modern  in- 
dividualism and  industrialism  and  of  social 
negativism  have  sprung  up  into  gigantic 
growths.  All  this  has  been  accentuated  rather 
than  lessened  by  the  influx  into  the  United 
States  of  millions  of  immigrants  from  all 
lands.  The  social  confusion  which  charac- 
terizes modern  civilization  generally,  has  been 
greatly  increased  in  America  through  the  at- 
tempt to  mix  peoples  of  many  different  tradi- 
tions and  discordant  ideals  of  life.  That  like- 
mindedness,  which  is  most  important  for  social 
peace  and  solidarity,  is  especially  absent  from 
American  society  as  a  whole.  Never  before, 
says  Professor  Giddings,  has  any  nation  at- 
tempted to  "mingle  in  one  political  aggregate, 
first,  antagonistic  races,  and  secondly,  the 
most  miscellaneous  assortment  of  nationalities, 
standards  of  living,  religious,  moral  and  polit- 
ical traditions,  temperaments  and  opinions, 
ever  nominally  combined  as  a  single  people." 
And  yet  it  is  perhaps  this  very  intermingling 
of  different  races,  religions,  and  traditions  of 

all  sorts,  which  has  given  rise  in  America  more 

88 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

than  elsewhere  to  the  sentiment  of  a  common 
humanity,  and  which  perhaps  fits  it  best  to 
lead  the  humanitarian  movement.  What  will 
come  out  of  this  "melting  pot  of  the  nations" 
no  one  can  yet  foresee.  Optimistic  sociologists 
are  fond  of  asserting  that  out  of  the  contact 
and  intermingling  of  cultures  a  higher  culture 
is  bound  to  result  through  the  survival  of 
what  is  best  in  each.  But  blind  optimism  is 
no  more  warranted  here  than  elsewhere;  for 
careful  scientific  study  shows  that  people  are 
quite  as  apt  to  imitate  the  worst  in  each  other, 
as  the  best;  and  that  the  constant  selection 
of  the  best  results  only  from  high  intelligence 
and  character  directed  by  wise  leadership. 

Another  influence  which  has  specifically 
affected  American  society,  as  has  often  been 
pointed  out  by  historians,  is  the  tradition  of 
frontier  life.  On  the  frontier,  civilization  is 
often  to  a  certain  extent  left  behind.  Not 
infrequently  the  rule  of  force  is  the  only  recog- 
nized law,  and  a  stark  individualism  dominates 
practical  life.  The  social  values  associated 

with  a  well-ordered  social  life  are  given  a  low 

89 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

estimate  or  even  tend  to  be  forgotten.  Now, 
practically  every  American  community  in  its 
early  beginnings  represented  the  frontier;  and 
long  after  the  frontier  stage  of  development 
was  passed  the  traditions  of  the  frontier  have 
survived  in  American  communities.  This  is 
shown  by  the  statistics  of  divorce,  homicide, 
and  lynching,  as  well  as  by  the  traditions  of 
initiative,  individual  energy,  and  self-depend- 
ence in  the  American  population.  Moreover, 
the  frontier  frequently  afforded  great  oppor- 
tunities for  the  individual  to  enrich  himself 
through  speculation,  the  exploitation  of  nat- 
ural resources,  or  similar  practices.  Thus 
the  traditions  of  commercialism  and  of  a 
predatory,  individualistic  business  ethics,  orig- 
inally from  European  motherlands,  became 
fastened  on  the  majority  of  the  American 
people  also. 

Such,  in  briefest  outline,  are  the  chief 
historical  and  traditional  elements  which 
enter  into  the  social  problem  of  the  present. 

And  let  us  always  remember  that  the  geo- 

90 


HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

graphical,  biological,  and  spiritual  elements  in 
that  problem  act  only  in  their  historic  settings. 
The  traditions  of  four  ancient  and  conflicting 
cultures  have  mingled  in  our  own;  while 
recent  history  has  developed  many  and  often 
antagonistic  forces  in  our  civilization.  We 
have  thus  far  failed  to  make  a  true  organic 
synthesis  of  these;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that 
confusion  and  conflict  as  to  ideals  of  life  have 
resulted.  But  this  is  no  reason  for  supposing 
the  social  problem  insoluble,  though  it  may 
take  the  labour  and  wisdom  of  many  genera- 
tions to  build  the  ideal  society  of  humanity. 


01 


CHAPTER 


fT^HERE  is  no  escaping  the  fact  that 
human  societies  exist  under  certain 
fixed  physical  conditions  which  make  them 
possible.  Society  may  be  a  spiritual  fact; 
but,  so  far  as  we  know,  it  is  possible  only  with- 
in very  narrow  range  of  physical  conditions. 
Even  a  small  fluctuation  in  temperature,  for 
instance,  would  wipe  out  human  life  on  this 
planet;  while  a  still  smaller  change  in  climate 
would  put  an  end  to  all  higher  civilization. 
Man's  boasted  mastery  over  nature  is  seen 
to  be  a  very  feeble  thing  in  the  face  of  the 
earthquake,  the  tornado,  the  flood,  or  even  in 
the  face  of  the  physiological  laws  of  his  own 
body,  or  forces  like  natural  selection  operating 
in  the  organic  world.  Man  can  exist  only  by 

submission  to  such  forces;  he  can  progress 

92 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

only  as  he  understands  them  and  acts  in 
harmony  with  them. 

Now,  these  familiar  facts  have  led  to  at- 
tempts to  interpret  all  human  life,  even 
civilization  itself,  in  physical  terms.  Because 
some  sets  of  physical  conditions  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  man's  well-being,  it  is 
argued  that  they  alone,  or  in  conjunction  with 
other  physical  conditions,  entirely  determine 
his  social  life.  Now,  it  is  no  longer  necessary 
to  refute  "geographical  determinism,"  for 
serious  students  of  human  society.  It  is 
seen  to  be  like  saying  that  because  the  shining 
of  the  sun  is  absolutely  necessary  for  man's 
existence,  therefore  the  sun  absolutely  de- 
termines the  life  of  man.  The  conditions  and 
the  determining  factors  of  social  We  have 
been  confused.  On  the,  other  hand,  the  in- 
terpretation of  human  society  in  terms  of  a 
purely  biological  "struggle  for  existence" 
is  not  quite  so  dead,  but  it  rests  in  last  analysis 
upon  no  sounder  basis.  The  physical  struggle 
for  existence  is  a  very  real  fact  in  human  ex- 
perience, and  the  resulting  "natural  selection" 

93 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

a  very  great  factor  in  social  evolution;  but 
there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  it  the  only 
factor  in  that  process.  Rather,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  process  of  social  and  cultural  develop- 
ment is  very  different  from  the  process  of 
organic  development,  even  though  the  latter 
itself  may  turn  out  to  be  something  more  than 
purely  physical. 

In  recognizing  the  very  great  part  played  by 
physical  and  biological  elements  in  the  social 
problem,  we  wish  expressly  to  repudiate  as  un- 
scientific, physical  and  purely  biological  theo- 
ries of  human  society,  and  to  warn  the  reader 
against  that  one-sidedness  in  social  theory 
and  practice  which  results  from  too  exclusive 
attention  to  these  physical  elements.  Never- 
theless, because  human  life  develops,  as  it 
were,  about  two  poles,  one  physical  and  the 
other  psychic,  we  must  in  our  study  of  the 
social  problem  give  due  credit  to  the  physical. 
It  is  manifest  that  the  heritage  of  civiliza- 
tion consists,  not  merely  of  spiritual  elements, 
but  also  (1)  of  a  favourable  physical  environ- 
ment with  suitable  natural  resources  for  the 

94 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

development  of  the  economic  and  technologic 
life;  (2)  of  the  individual  health  and  bodily 
vigour  of  the  whole  population ;  (3)  of  a  sound 
racial  heredity,  or  germ  plasm,  which  shall 
transmit  from  generation  to  generation  the 
potential  qualities  of  body  and  mind  in  in- 
dividuals necessary  to  meet  the  exacting 
demands  of  an  increasingly  complex  civiliza- 
tion. Even  if  natural  resources,  health,  and 
heredity  can  be  controlled  only  by  ideas  and 
ideals,  still  they  stand  as  objective  facts  which 
must  be  taken  into  account  by  any  scientific 
sociology. 

Man's  control  over  climatic  and  general 
meteorologic  conditions  is  still  very  limited, 
but  his  control  over  natural  resources  in  the 
soil,  in  water,  in  fauna  and  flora,  and  in  min- 
erals can  be  very  great.  The  movement  for 
the  conservation  of  natural  resources  has 
happily  gained  such  headway  in  most  civilized 
nations  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  it 
rests  upon  the  soundest  ethical  and  scientific 
basis.  Man  has  been  such  a  ruthless  plunderer 

of  the  riches  of  mother  nature  that  he  has  in 

95 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

/ 

places  left  her  destitute.  Instead  of  conserv- 
ing and  developing  the  gifts  of  the  earth,  he 
has  exploited  them  too  often  for  his  own  in- 
dividual benefit.  Instead  of  tilling  the  soil, 
he  has  often  "mined"  it,  as  it  were,  to  get 
selfishly  for  himself  and  his  own  whatever 
wealth  he  could  wring  from  it,  impoverish- 
ing future  generations.  He  has  cut  down 
forests  which  he  never  grew,  without  plant- 
ing any  in  their  place,  sometimes  rendering 
thereby  whole  districts  uninhabitable.  He 
has  wantonly  destroyed  whole  species  of 
animals  which  might  have  been  of  possible 
use  to  future  generations.  He  has  needlessly 
robbed  the  earth  of  its  mineral  resources  in 
order  to  enrich  himself  more  rapidly,  though 
the  civilization  of  the  future  may  depend  upon 
these.  All  this  is,  of  course,  a  result  of  our 
predatory  civilization;  and  the  fatal  weakness 
of  the  conservation  movement  is  that  it  de- 
mands a  consideration  of  humanity  itself,  the 
humanity  which  is  to  be  as  well  as  that  which 
now  is, — such  as  has  not  yet  established  itself 

among  our  supreme  social  values.     In  other 

96 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

words,  it  demands  for  its  success  a  humanity- 
wide  altruism,  uncorrupted  by  any  mere  self- 
interest.  But  that  such  a  movement  has 
made  some  headway  is  one  of  the  most  en- 
couraging signs  in  Western  civilization;  and 
we  must  recognize  that  the  sciences  connected 
with  it,  such  as  the  New  Agriculture,  must 
have  part  in  the  solution  of  the  social  problem. 
In  this  connection,  in  order  to  show  the  wide 
bearings  of  the  agricultural  problem  upon  the 
social  problem  generally,  it  may  be  well  to 
cite  the  words  of  one  of  the  profounder  critics 
of  American  civilization: 39  "The  country  side 
has  in  the  last  half  century  been  too  much 
neglected,  exactly  as  began  to  be  the  case  in 
the  Roman  Empire  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century.  It  is  easy  to  guess  what  must 
be  the  consequence  of  this  lop-sided  arrange- 
ment. The  cities  grow  bigger;  industries  in- 
crease in  size;  the  luxury  and  the  needs  of  the 
masses,  crowded  together  in  the  cities,  aug- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  propor- 

39  See  Ferrero,  Ancient  Rome  and  Modern  America, 
p.  86. 

97 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

tionate  increase  in  the  productiveness  of  the 
land.  And  so  the  increase  in  wealth  is  accom- 
panied by  an  increasing  scarcity  of  the  fruits 
of  the  earth." 

Of  even  greater  importance  than  the  con- 
servation of  natural  resources  is  the  conserva- 
tion and  development  of  physical  health  in 
the  population.  As  Herbert  Spencer  said, 
"To  be  a  good  animal  is  the  first  requisite  to 
success  in  life,  and  to  be  a  nation  of  good 
animals  is  the  first  condition  of  national  pros- 
perity. "  But  through  the  slums  of  our  cities, 
through  unsanitary  work  and  workshops, 
through  starvation  wages  and  long  hours, 
through  alcoholism  and  sexual  vice,  through 
luxurious  habits  of  living  and  social  strain, 
Western  civilization  has  been  seriously  under- 
mining health  instead  of  building  it  up.  As 
an  eminent  American  physician  has  said: 

"The  progressive  civilization  of  the  last 
hundred  years  has  worked  terribly  against 
the  health  and  perpetuity  of  the  whole  race. 
This  is  seen  in  the  reduced  vitality  of  the 

multitude  that  inhabit   closely   built  cities, 

98 


PHYSICAL    ELEMENTS 

in  the  diminished  size  of  families,  in  the  in- 
capacity of  many  women  to  bear  and  nurse 
children,  in  the  disproportionate  increase  of 
the  insane,  defectives  and  criminally  inclined. 
Such  cities  as  London,  Paris,  Berlin,  New 
York,  and  Chicago  bear  witness  that  modern 
civilization  is  all  the  time  preparing  and  pro- 
moting its  own  destruction." 

With  such  a  statement  every  careful  student 
of  social  conditions  must  heartily  agree,  ex- 
cept that  one  may  doubt  the  propriety  of 
calling  a  civilization  progressive  which  has 
done  such  things.  From  this  standpoint  the 
whole  public  health  movement  looms  up  with 
a  new  importance.  The  role  of  sanitary 
science  and  public  hygiene  is  seen  to  be  a  so- 
cial one,  which  affects  the  whole  life  of  human- 
ity, both  now  and  in  the  future.  It  is  not 
merely  a  question  of  the  sympathetic  relief 
or  prevention  of  the  sufferings  of  a  few  scat- 
tered individuals;  it  is  rather  a  question  of 
controlling  the  physical  factor  in  living  to- 
gether, and  of  conserving  the  physical  basis 

of  civilization.     We  must  put  a  stop  to  the 

99 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

destruction  of  individual  health  in  mine  and 
factory,  in  our  cities  and  in  our  unsanitary 
rural  regions,  both  by  work  and  by  vicious 
habits,  if  we  are  to  have  either  a  satisfactory 
social  life  in  the  present  or  continued  progress 
in  the  future. 

In  fact,  every  preventable  disease,  every 
condition  which  needlessly  undermines  the 
vitality  of  a  population  is  a  direct  menace  and 
obstacle  to  all  that  makes  for  higher  civiliza- 
tion. The  sacrifice  of  life  through  industrial 
accidents  and  diseases,  through  overwork 
and  underpay,  through  unsanitary  dwellings, 
through  commercialized  pandering  to  men's 
vicious  appetites,  we  must  cease  to  tolerate 
among  us  if  we  are  to  progress  either  morally 
or  physically.  The  evils  of  war  are  great,  but 
they  are  no  greater  than  these  evils  of  peace 
which  we  have  tolerated  too  long.  Professor 
Irving  Fisher  has  shown  that  the  annual  loss 
to  the  United  States  alone  through  preventable 
diseases  and  deaths  is  over  $1,500,000,000.40 

40  See  his  report  on  National  Vitality,  its  Wastes  and 
Conservation,  Senate  Document  No.  676,  pp.  634,  741. 

100 


."V..OG 

PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

The  economic  loss  is,  however,  only  a  small 
part  of  the  real  loss  through  the  existence  of 
preventable  diseases.  There  is  also  the  in- 
tellectual and  moral  loss  of  the  removal  from 
society,  either  temporarily  through  ill-health, 
or  permanently  through  death,  of  individuals 
performing  every  function  in  the  family,  the 
community,  and  the  nation.  We  cannot  safely 
assume  that  preventable  disease  and  death 
remove  chiefly  the  unfit  in  society.  On  the 
contrary,  under  present  social  conditions  at 
least,  the  victims  are  perhaps  as  frequently 
the  capable  and  efficient  as  the  incapable  and 
inefficient.  In  any  case,  one  of  the  prime  con- 
ditions of  normal  social  life  is  that  there  be  a 
prolonged  working  period  for  both  men  and 
women.  If  there  is  some  advantage  in  a  pro- 
gressive society  in  having  a  preponderance  in  it 
of  youth,  there  is  also  infinite  social  loss  in 
having  individuals  cut  off  just  as  they  are  pre- 
pared to  render  the  largest  social  service.  All 
arrangements  in  the  family,  the  community 
and  the  nation  suffer  because  of  the  needless 

uncertainty  of  life  and  health.    There  can  be 

101 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

no  solution  of  the  social  problem  until  the 
problems  of  health  are  brought  under  social 
control. 

Fortunately  all  the  movements  that  can  be 
included  under  public  health  and  preventive 
medicine — the  anti-tuberculosis  movement, 
the  housing  movement,  infant  welfare,  indus- 
trial hygiene,  school  hygiene,  urban  and  rural 
sanitation — are  well  under  way  among  civi- 
lized nations,  even  though  much  remains  to  be 
done.  Only  the  movements  against  alcoholism 
and  sexual  vice  lack  popular  support  in  some 
communities.  The  trouble  with  all  these 
movements  is  that  they  too  often  lack  the 
social  point  of  view.  Their  leaders  do  not 
always  see  that  all  social  problems  hang  to- 
gether, and  that  they  are  merely  dealing  with 
the  social  problem  in  some  of  its  physical  as- 
pects. Tuberculosis  as  a  preventable  disease, 
e.  g.,  is  rooted  in  all  sorts  of  physical  and  moral 
conditions  in  society.  One  cannot  touch  the 
tuberculosis  problem  without  picking  up  with 
it  the  problems  of  human  industry,  morality, 

heredity — in  fact  the  whole  problem  of  human 

102 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

living  together,  the  social  problem.  There  is 
urgent  need  for  a  "medical  sociology"  which 
shall  see  the  inter-relations  of  these  physical 
problems  with  the  spiritual  aspects  of  human 
life. 

But  the  social  problem  cannot  be  solved 
until  we  can  control  in  some  degree  that 
physical  relation  between  generations  which 
we  term  heredity.  Next  after  tradition, 
heredity  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important  con- 
stitutive element  of  human  society,  because 
it  gives  continuity  to  the  social  life  on  the 
physical  side.  If  it  is  important  that  we  con- 
serve in  every  reasonable  way  the  life  and 
health  of  the  individual,  it  is  even  more  im- 
portant, in  any  long  view  of  human  life,  that 
we  conserve  the  integrity  of  the  hereditary 
elements  which  produce  each  new  generation. 
For  the  stream  of  life  may  be  polluted  in  two 
ways,  either  at  its  source  or  along  its  banks. 
Disease,  alcoholism,  vice,  and  unsanitary  sur- 
roundings may  pollute  the  stream  of  life  after 

its  start,  but  when  we  allow  the  biologically 

103 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

unfit  to  become  parents  we  pollute  it  at  its 
source;  and  this  is  in  the  long  run  the  more 
serious,  for  life  polluted  at  its  source  never  can 
cleanse  itself.  It  is  the  manifest  duty  of  hu- 
manitarian ethics,  therefore,  to  insist  that 
every  child  born  into  the  world  shall  have  a 
right  start  in  life — a  good  birth.  Now,  this 
means  that  it  shall  have  a  sound  heredity.41 
We  need  not  lose  our  interest  in  the  influences 
of  the  environment  which  shape  character 
because  we  are  interested  in  every  child  having 
a  right  physical  heredity.  On  the  contrary, 
if  we  are  interested  in  every  child  having  a 
right  start  in  life  physically,  we  should  be  all 
the  more  interested  in  keeping  favourable  the 
forces  in  the  environment  which  may  affect 
character  or  even  destroy  health  and  life. 
Otherwise,  from  a  social  life  point  of  view,  our 
work  is  in  vain.  Recognition  of  the  importance 
of  heredity,  then,  is  perfectly  compatible  with  the 
recognition  of  the  importance  of  nurture  or  en- 
vironment. However  much  faith  we  may  have 

41  Cf .  Saleeby,  Parenthood  and  Race  Culture;  also 
Methods  of  Race  Regeneration. 

104 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

that  in  the  spiritual  elements  of  life  lies  the 
key  to  the  control  of  individual  character  and 
social  development,  yet  we  must  recognize 
the  physical  elements  as  the  basis  of  our  social 
life;  and  among  these  physical  elements  hered- 
ity is  easily  of  the  first  practical  importance. 

What,  then,  is  heredity?  And  how  can  it 
be  controlled?  Without  going  into  technical- 
ities, let  us  consider  the  first  question.42 

We  all  understand  what  heredity  is  in  a 
general  way.  We  plant  seed  in  the  ground, 
and  from  it  expect  a  plant  of  a  certain  type 
to  be  produced.  We  know  that  as  much  de- 
pends upon  the  seed  as  upon  the  soil,  moisture, 
temperature,  and  light,  the  factors  in  the  en- 
vironment. We  do  not  expect  a  superior  type 

42  The  substance  of  the  remainder  of  this  Chapter 
was  delivered  as  a  lecture  before  the  University  of 
Missouri  in  April,  1913,  under  the  patronage  of  Mrs. 
Huntington  Wilson,  and  was  later  published  by  her  in  a 
book  entitled:  Eugenics,  Twelve  University  Lectures 
(Dodd,  Mead  and  Co.,  1914). 

Cf.  Davenport,  Heredity  in  Relation  to  Eugenics; 
also,  Thomson,  Heredity. 

105 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

of  cabbage,  say,  to  grow  from  an  inferior  kind 
of  seed;  neither  do  we  expect  the  cabbage  to 
grow  without  the  proper  conditions  of  soil, 
moisture,  temperature,  and  cultivation.  Now 
the  seed  stands  for  the  hereditary  elements 
involved  in  such  a  situation.  The  heredity, 
in  other  words,  is  what  is  given  in  the  germ,  and 
it  is  manifest  that  no  attention  to  environ- 
ment can  possibly  develop  anything  but  the 
potentialities  of  the  germ.  Now,  the  case 
with  human  beings  is  not  different  from  what 
it  is  with  plants.  As  in  the  plant  world,  so 
in  the  human  world,  heredity  is  alone  creative 
of  individual  qualities.  The  environment  can 
only  modify  those  qualities,  though  we  must 
not  fail  to  remember  that,  so  far  as  social 
conduct  is  concerned,  man  is  probably  the 
most  modifiable  of  all  living  forms.43  Now,  if 
heredity  is  what  is  given  in  the  germ,  it  is 
evident  that  nothing  can  be  inherited  except 
the  traits  which  are  inherent  in  the  germ  cells. 
These  cells,  out  of  which  the  new  individual 
arises,  modern  biology  teaches,  are  a  separate 
43  See  Thomson's  Heredity,  pp.  242-9. 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

series  of  cells  distinct  from  and  more  or  less 
independent  of  the  body  cells.  Hence,  the 
impossibility  of  parents  transmitting  to  off- 
spring traits  which  they  have  acquired  during 
their  lifetime,  for  there  is  no  way  by  which 
specific  modifications  in  the  cells  of  the  body 
can  possibly  reproduce  themselves  in  the  germ 
cells.  This  fact  of  the  non-transmissibility  of 
acquired  traits  is  known  as  Weismann's  law 
of  the  non-inheritance  of  acquired  characters. 
Though  there  has  been  much  debate  of  this 
law,  rightly  understood  it  seems  self-evident, 
when  we  remember  that  the  germ  cells  are 
separate  and  distinct  from  the  body  cells. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  that  a  bodily  mutilation  could  be 
transmitted  from  parent  to  offspring;  likewise, 
that  a  functionally-produced  modification  in 
the  body  of  the  parent  organism  could  be 
transmitted.  A  clear  grasp,  therefore,  of  the 
truth  that  nothing  is  inherited  except  the 
characteristics  of  the  family  stock,  the  traits 
which  are  inherent  in  the  germ  plasm  itself, 

will  save  many  questions. 

107 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

Weismann's  law  is,  however,  often  mis- 
understood by  people  generally  to  be  the  doc- 
trine that  the  life  of  the  parent  organism  in  no 
way  affects  the  life  of  the  offspring;  that  no 
matter  what  the  individual  parent  does,  it 
will  not  affect  his  offspring.  This  is,  of  course, 
a  gross  misunderstanding  of  Weismann's  doc- 
trine. Weismann  knew,  as  well  as  anyone, 
that  the  germ  cells  receive  their  nutrition 
from  the  blood,  and  hence  may  possibly  be 
influenced  in  many  ways  by  the  character 
of  that  nutrition.  As  yet,  however,  scientific 
evidence  is  lacking  as  to  the  amount  and 
character  of  the  influence  upon  the  germ 
plasm  through  nutrition.  The  evidence  seems 
to  point  mainly  in  a  negative  direction,  that 
is,  that  the  germ  cells  may  be  influenced  by 
poisons  and  by  malnutrition,  but  probably 
not  in  the  opposite  direction.  Thus,  the  evi- 
dence seems  to  be  fairly  sufficient  to  warrant 
the  conclusion  that  a  large  amount  of  alcohol 
in  the  blood,  sufficient  to  poison  the  whole 
system,  will  poison  the  germ  cells  and  set  up 

degenerative  changes  in  them.    The  offspring 

108 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

of  confirmed  alcoholics  are,  therefore,  apt  to  be 
under- vitalized  or  afflicted  with  various  forms 
of  degeneracy,  such  as  feeble-mindedness, 
epilepsy,  and  insanity.  This  is,  at  least,  the 
most  conservative,  scientific  view  at  the  pres- 
ent, though  it  is  still  much  debated.  It  will 
be  noted,  however,  that  in  this  case  there  has 
been  no  inheritance  of  any  specific  acquired 
traits.  The  poison  of  alcohol  has  simply  set 
up  degenerative  changes  which  affect  the 
germ  cells  themselves.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  the  toxins  elaborated  by  certain  diseases 
may  produce  similar  results;  certain  statistics, 
at  any  rate,  seem  to  indicate  that  to  parents 
in  the  advanced  stages  of  such  a  disease  as 
tuberculosis  normal  children  are  seldom  born. 
As  an  example  of  the  effect  of  malnutrition  on 
the  germ  cells,  it  is  only  necessary  to  point  out 
that  the  malnutrition  which  accompanies  ad- 
vanced age,  shows  itself  especially  clearly  in 
this  connection.  According  to  Dr.  Bertillon 
of  Paris,  who  has  made  elaborate  investiga- 
tions along  this  line,  fathers  above  the  age  of 

sixty  years,   rarely ,  beget  perfectly  healthy 

109 


children.  Much  investigation  is,  however, 
still  necessary  before  we  can  fully  decide  how 
far  the  life  history  of  the  parent  organism  may 
influence  biologically,  that  is,  by  heredity,  the 
life  of  the  offspring.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  we  are  not  warranted  in  assuming  that 
no  matter  how  we  live  our  life  will  not  affect 
the  physical  constitution  and  health  of  our 
children.  Rather  the  only  safe  conclusion  for 
the  present  is  that  we  should  live  on  the  highest 
physical  plane,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  our 
own  efficiency,  but  also  for  the  sake  of  our 
descendants. 

Another  fact  which  should  always  be  re- 
membered in  connection  with  heredity  is  that 
inheritance  is  equal  from  both  parents,  but 
traits  are  seemingly  transmitted  as  units. 
This  fact  gives  rise  to  what  is  known  as  Men- 
del's law,  according  to  which  there  is  no  per- 
manent blending  of  different  traits  in  a  series 
of  generations,  but  on  the  contrary  contrasted 
traits  tend  to  segregate  in  definite  and  regular 
proportions  after  the  first  filial  generation. 

For  example,  if  feeble-minded  persons  inter- 

110 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

marry  with  normal  persons,  their  children 
in  the  first  generation  will  be  apparently  all 
normal  persons.44  But  if  these  children  of 
feeble-minded  and  normal  persons  intermarry 
among  themselves,  their  offspring  will  be 
found  to  be  one-fourth  feeble-minded  and 
three-fourths  apparently  normal  persons.  But 
if  these  latter  intermarry  it  is  found  that 
two-thirds  of  them  will  again  have  offspring 
in  the  proportion  one-fourth  feeble-minded 
and  three-fourths  apparently  normal,  while 
only  one-third  will  have  wholly  normal  off- 
spring. This  shows  that  in  the  second  genera- 
tion one-fourth  were  pure  normals,  one-fourth 
feeble-minded,  and  one-half  hybrids  which 
appeared  normal,  but  which  were  in  fact  not 
so,  so  far  as  their  germ  cells  were  concerned. 

Mendel's  law  thus  shows  us  the  manner  of 
transmission  of  hereditary  traits  in  individual 
cases.  It  is  a  highly  important  law  for  eu- 

44  Assuming,  of  course,  that  feeble-mindedness  be- 
haves like  a  simple  recessive  unit  character.  But  see 
Goddard,  The  Kallikak  Family;  also,  Feeblemindedness: 
Its  Causes  and  Consequences  (1914). 

Ill 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

genics,  especially  because  it  shows  us  the 
results  of  the  crossing  of  normal  with  abnormal 
stocks.  It  will  be  noted  that,  according  to 
Mendel's  law,  no  secure  knowledge  of  heredity 
can  be  gained  from  the  observance  of  just 
two  consecutive  generations,  but  only  through 
the  study  of  three  or  more  generations.  In 
human  society,  on  account  of  the  crossing  of 
numerous  stocks,  or  bio-types,  as  they  are 
called,  practically  every  mating  results  in 
hybrid  offspring.  Hence  the  full  result  of 
such  mating  may  not  be  seen  until  the  second, 
third,  or  even  fourth  filial  generation.45 

One  further  fact  should  be  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  modern  doctrine  of 
heredity,  and  that  is,  that  apparently  minute 
variations  or  "fluctuations,"  as  they  are 
termed  by  biologists,  are  probably  not  in- 
herited. Only  the  larger  variations,  variations 
in  quality,  not  in  degree,  are  clearly  trans- 
missible. Minute  personal  traits  of  the  in- 

45  For  a  clear  discussion  of  Mendelism  as  well  as  the 
whole  modern  theory  of  heredity,  in  addition  to  the 
references  above,  see  Walter,  Genetics. 

112 


PHYSICAL    ELEMENTS 

dividual,  in  other  words,  though  they  may  do 
much  to  make  personality,  are  not  transmis- 
sible, but,  as  we  have  said,  only  the  character- 
istics of  the  family  stock,  the  traits  which  are 
inherent  in  the  germ  plasm.46  These  hereditary 
traits,  however,  affect  every  quality  of  the 
individual,  not  only  his  bodily  make-up,  but, 
also,  in  a  lesser  degree,  his  mental  and  moral 
character. 

Now,  the  science  which  aims  at  the  practical 
control  of  human  heredity  is  called  Eugenics, 
which  Sir  Francis  Galton,  its  founder,  defined 
as  "  the  science  which  deals  with  all  influences 
that  improve  the  inborn  qualities  of  a  race." 
At  first  sight  it  might  seem  that  this  science 
was  simply  the  application  to  the  human 
species  of  the  biological  laws  which  we  have 
just  discussed,  and  that  it  had  nothing  to  do 
with  sociology.  But  on  further  thought  we 
see  that  the  application  of  our  knowledge 
of  heredity  in  human  society  involves  col- 

46  This,  at  least,  is  the  conclusion  of  Johanusen,  the 
Danish  biologist,  from  his  experiments. 

113 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

lective  control  over  the  whole  reproductive 
process.  As  Galton  himself  said,  eugenics 
must  be  "the  study  of  agencies  under  social 
control  which  may  improve  or  impair  the 
racial  qualities  of  future  generations,  either 
physically  or  mentally."  It  must  be  included, 
therefore,  as  Mr.  Victor  Branford  contends,47 
within  the  scope  of  sociology,  at  least  of  any 
sociology  which  applies  itself  to  the  solution 
of  the  social  problem. 

For  it  is  evident  that  eugenics  can  do 
nothing  to  improve  the  human  breed  without 
controlling  the  institution  of  marriage  and 
sex  relations  generally  in  society.  Practically, 
therefore,  the  problem  of  eugenics  in  the  pres- 
ent order  of  society  is  simply  the  problem  of 
securing  wise  marriages — wise,  that  is,  from 
the  biological  standpoint.  The  problem  of 
eugenics  is,  then,  a  sociological  problem,  which, 
however,  demands  expert  biological  knowledge 
for  its  solution. 

There  is  much  to  commend  and  at  the  same 
time  many  dangers  and  difficulties  in  the 

47  Interpretations  and  Forecasts,  pp.  3,  403. 
114 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

present  eugenics  movement.  The  chief  danger 
is  to  be  found  in  the  over-emphasis  of  the  im- 
portance of  heredity,  and  of  the  biological 
element  generally,  in  human  society.  If  it 
has  been  a  common  mistake  of  social  thinkers 
in  the  past  to  underrate  the  importance  of 
this  element,  it  may  easily  happen  that  in 
the  future  too  great  emphasis  may  be  laid 
upon  it.  Human  society,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  primarily  a  psychic  or  spiritual  matter,  and 
social  or  cultural  evolution  is  only  based  on 
and  conditioned  by  organic  evolution.  Social 
improvement  is  by  no  means  mere  biological 
improvement.48  It  follows  that  an  exclusively 
biological  view  of  human  society  is  one  of 
those  dangerous  one-sided  doctrines  which 
prove  negative  toward  other  aspects  of  our 
social  life.  There  is  as  little  excuse  now  for 
theorizing  about  an  abstract  biologic  man 
in  society  as  for  theorizing  about  an  abstract 
economic  man.  Every  sane  student  of  society 
knows  that  neither  exists.  It  is  inexcusable, 

48  Cf.    Hobhouse,    Social    Evolution    and    Political 
Theory,  Chapter  III. 

115 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

therefore,  for  the  eugenist  to  ally  himself 
practically  with  the  materialist  by  overlooking 
the  spiritual  factors  in  our  social  life. 

Even  if  we  regard  man  from  a  purely  phys- 
ical standpoint,  there  are  beside  the  heredi- 
tary or  inborn  traits  of  individuals  their 
acquired  traits  or  habits.  Now,  there  is  no 
sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  the  inborn 
traits  of  individuals  determine  in  any  great 
degree  their  acquired  traits,  especially  in  the 
realm  of  conduct.  On  the  contrary,  these 
latter  seem  to  be  more  largely  determined  by 
the  social  environment,  especially  the  "sub- 
jective environment"  of  ideas,  ideals,  and 
values  which  constitute  the  tradition  of  the 
social  group  of  which  he  is  a  member.  The 
inborn  traits  of  our  forefathers  three  thousand 
years  back  probably  did  not  differ  appreci- 
ably from  our  own;  but  they  were  savages  or 
barbarians,  and  we  are  civilized.  Apparently, 
in  the  normal  man,  habits  of  many  varied 
sorts  may  be  built  upon  the  basis  of  his  inborn 
traits;  yet  the  former  are  vastly  more  impor- 
tant from  a  social  and  moral  standpoint; 

116 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

for  inborn  traits,  so  far  as  we  know,  neither 
adjust  the  individual  to  civilization  nor 
produce  high  moral  character. 

The  eugenist  cannot  be  pardoned,  there- 
fore, when  he  forgets  that  we  all  are  born 
savages;  that  civilization  and  most  of  its  vir- 
tues are  acquired  traits;  and  that,  therefore, 
the  problems  of  our  civilization  are  essen- 
tially spiritual.  Yet  he  is  right  when  he  in- 
sists that  certain  qualities  and  capacities  of 
the  hereditary  elements  of  the  germ  plasm, 
must  furnish  the  basis  upon  which  all  human 
civilization  and  all  acquired  mental  and  moral 
characters  of  the  individual  must  be  built. 
We  have  only  to  look  at  the  feeble-minded  in 
order  to  see  this.  He  is  right,  therefore,  when 
he  emphasizes  the  inadequacy  of  all  social 
reform  which  leaves  heredity  out  of  account. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  sanely  developed  eu- 
genics movement  will  recognize  the  inade- 
quacy of  all  attempts  at  social  reform  through 
paying  attention  to  heredity  alone.  It  will 
make  no  claim  that  it  is  any  more  than  one 

of  many  agencies  which  may  be  employed  for 

117 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

the  improvement  of  human  social  life.  But 
since  heredity  is  the  basis  of  individual  charac- 
ter, it  must  be  controlled  if  we  are  to  control 
adequately  the  development  of  character;  and 
as  individual  character,  physical,  intellectual 
and  moral,  is  the  ultimate  problem  in  human 
society,  we  must  learn  to  control  heredity  in 
order  to  solve  the  social  problem.49 

But  there  are  great  practical  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  the  success  of  the  eugenics  move- 
ment, even  greater  than  the  theoretical  dan- 
gers just  pointed  out.  The  individualism 
developed  by  modern  civilization  has  shown 
itself  especially  in  sex  relations.  Marriage 
has  been  based  solely  upon  romantic  affection 
and  its  primary  purpose  is  supposed  to  be  the 
happiness  of  the  parties  concerned.  To  con- 
trol marriage  and  sex  relations  in  the  interest 
of  society  is  a  difficult  matter;  yet,  as  we  have 
said,  this  is  the  real  problem  involved  in  a 

^Anyone  interested  in  the  problem  of  heredity  in 
human  society  should  read  Dr.  H.  H.  Goddard's  illu- 
minating work  on  The  Kallikak  Family. 

118 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

rational  eugenics  programme.  It  would  be 
a  great  mistake  to  assert  at  the  beginning  that 
this  could  not  be  done.  As  Sir  Francis  Galton 
pointed  out,  the  institution  of  marriage  has 
been  subjected  among  practically  all  peoples, 
to  numerous  regulations,  some  of  them  of  the 
most  absurd  character.  If  this  is  true,  then 
it  must  be  evident  that  there  is  no  insuperable 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  control  of  marriage 
in  the  interests  of  a  stronger  and  better  race. 
The  method  of  control  in  such  a  civilization 
as  ours  would,  however,  manifestly  have  to 
be  different  from  methods  often  used  in  the 
past.  It  could  not  be  through  superstition, 
nor  even  mainly  through  legal  coercion.  It 
would  have  to  be  mainly  through  the  power 
of  education,  ideals,  and  public  opinion.  A 
practical  eugenics  programme,  therefore,  must 
direct  itself  to  influencing  these  three  great 
agencies  of  social  control. 

Another  difficulty  of  a  eugenics  programme 
in  modern  society  is  the  confusion  regarding 
ideals  of  life,  which  we  have  already  pointed  out 

as  so  marked  a  trait  in  our  civilization,  and  the 

119 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

consequent  disagreement  as  to  what  are  desir- 
able qualities  in  the  individual.  It  would  seem, 
however,  as  has  often  been  remarked,  that  even 
we  might  agree  as  to  the  desirability  of  health, 
energy,  intelligence,  and  self-control  in  individ- 
uals as  contrasted  with  their  extreme  opposites. 
A  temporary  limitation  of  any  eugenics 
programme  at  present  is,  of  course,  the  im- 
perfectness  of  our  knowledge  of  human  hered- 
ity. But  this  is  being  remedied  yearly,  and 
exact  biological  knowledge  seems  probable 
even  within  the  near  future. 

As  to  the  need  of  a  eugenics  programme  in 
modern  society,  there  is  practically  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  among  careful  students.  Long 
before  Galton  formulated  his  programme, 
sociologists  and  social  workers  had  often 
pointed  out  the  need  of  it.  It  has  long  been 
evident  that  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  cessa- 
tion of  natural  selection  brought  about  in 
certain  social  classes  by  wealth,  unwise  charity, 
and  other  means,  has  resulted  in  the  gradual 

production  of  an  enormous  number  of  heredi- 

120 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

tary  defectives,  among  practically  all  civilized 
people.  If  we  take  the  United  States  as  an 
example,  there  are  in  its  hundred  million  of 
population  over  one-half  million  mental  de- 
fectives alone,  including  in  that  term  only 
the  manifestly  feeble-minded,  the  chronic 
insane,  and  the  epileptic.  Recent  investiga- 
tions, moreover,  show  that  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  criminal,  pauper,  and  vicious 
classes  must  also  be  included  in  the  mentally 
defective  classes.  In  a  large  majority  of  these 
cases,  heredity  is  responsible  for  their  condi- 
tion. If  we  add  to  these  mental  defectives 
all  those  who  suffer  from  serious  physical  de- 
fects, the  total  number  of  defective  stock  in 
the  United  States  cannot  fall  much  short 
of  three  million  persons.  Of  this  number, 
something  over  one-half  million  are  cared  for 
in  institutions,  placing  upon  the  normal  pop- 
ulation a  burden  of  probably  about  a  thou- 
sand million  dollars  annually.  When  we  con- 
sider that  the  defective  persons  outside  of 
institutions  are  also  frequently  a  burden  upon 

the  normal  population,  we  can  see  the  immense 

121 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

financial  burden  which  our  defective  stock 
imposes  upon  our  nation,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  enormous  total  burden  which  must  rest 
upon  the  whole  family  of  civilized  nations  by 
reason  of  the  existence  of  a  large  per  cent 
of  defective  individuals  in  their  population. 
Moreover,  when  we  reflect  that  a  very  large 
per  cent  of  these  defectives  are  married  and 
become  parents,  and  that  the  lower  types  of 
defectives,  especially  the  feeble-minded,  have 
a  much  higher  birth  rate  than  the  normal 
population,  we  can  readily  see  that  the  peril 
of  diffusing  throughout  our  general  population 
the  traits  of  these  defective  strains  is  not 
exaggerated  by  eugenists. 

On  the  other  hand,  investigation  shows  that 
in  nearly  all  Western  nations  the  educated  and 
socially  fortunate  classes  fail  to  reproduce 
even  sufficiently  to  keep  up  their  numbers, 
and  that  this  tendency  is  rapidly  increasing. 
Thus  in  England,  according  to  Whetham,50 
the  birth  rate  of  aristocratic  families  declined 
from  over  seven  children  per  each  fertile 

60  The  Family  and  the  Nation,  p.  139. 
122 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

marriage  in  the  decade  preceding  1840  to  3.13 
children  per  each  fertile  marriage  in  the  decade 
ending  1890.  Meanwhile  the  percentage  of 
fertile  marriages  among  the  aristocracy  had 
greatly  decreased.  In  Massachusetts  in  1910 
the  native  white  stock  showed  a  birth  rate 
of  only  14.8  per  thousand  annually  of  their 
population,  while  their  death  rate  was  16.3.51 
On  the  other  hand,  the  foreign  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  1910  had  a  birth  rate  of  49.5  per 
thousand  of  their  population,  while  their 
death  rate  was  15.5.52  These  figures  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  socially  more  capable 
classes  frequently  fail  to  reproduce  adequately, 
while  other  evidence,  as  we  have  already  said, 
undoubtedly  shows  that  the  socially  unfit 
reproduce  more  rapidly  than  the  normal. 
Thus  Western  civilization  is  tolerating  a 

61  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  point  out  that  this  stock 
represents  largely  the  older  families  in  Massachusetts, 
the  stock  which  produced  the  great  men  of  New  Eng- 
land of  the  middle  nineteenth  century. 

82  See  the  whole  discussion  of  this  question  of  the 
decline  of  #^e  birth  rate  in  the  writer's  work  on  Sociology 
and  Modern  Social  Problems,  revised  edition,  1913. 

123 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

"reversal  of  selection,"  and  such  reversal  of 
selection  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the 
collapse  of  previous  civilizations. 

War  also,  whether  civil  or  international,  as 
has  often  been  pointed  out,  is  one  of  the  agen- 
cies in  human  society  under  modern  conditions 
which  does  most  to  promote  a  "reversal  of 
selection."  War  not  only  prevents  the  normal 
reproduction  of  many  of  the  strongest  and 
fittest  by  removing  them  from  family  life,  but 
it  absolutely  eliminates  them.  Nations  can 
easily  destroy  their  strongest  and  most  capable 
elements  by  excessive  militarism.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  as  we  have  already  shown, 
peace  in  itself  is  no  guarantee  that  this  "re- 
versal of  selection"  shall  cease.  On  the  con- 
trary, peace  with  unwise  social  arrangements 
and  false  ideals  of  living  may  be  as  non- 
eugenic  as  war  itself. 

What,  then,  can  be  done?  As  soon  as  we 
turn  to  this  practical  question,  the  dangers 
and  difficulties  which  confront  a  eugenics 

programme  become  again  manifest.     Espe- 

124 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

cially  is  there  danger  of  premature  legislation 
forbidding  marriage  to  certain*  classes  of  de- 
fectives. People  are  particularly  prone  to  for- 
get what  the  law  can  do  and  what  it  cannot  do. 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  mere 
forbidding  of  legal  marriage  to  certain  classes 
of  defectives  will  prevent  their  propagation  in 
society,  because  it  is  probable  that  many  of 
these  defective  individuals  will  find  means  of 
reproducing  their  kind  outside  of  the  marriage 
bond.  Unwise  laws,  in  other  words,  may  not 
prevent  the  reproduction  of  the  unfit,  but  only 
add  to  the  burden  of  defectiveness  the  further 
burden  of  illegitimacy. 

It  may  be  worth  our  while  to  pause  for  a 
moment  to  see  what  the  law  can  do  in  specific 
cases,  and  what  it  cannot  do.  It  is  in  general 
a  safe  principle  to  lay  down  that  society  should 
not  forbid  marriage  to  any  class  of  persons 
unless  it  is  prepared  to  care  for  that  class  in 
institutions  segregated  from  free  social  life,  or, 
unless  it  is  confident  that  public  conscience 
and  public  opinion  will  be  strong  enough  in 

its   influence   over   that   particular   class   to 

125 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

prevent     even     secret     infractions     of     the 
law. 

We  often  hear  it  said  that  legal  marriage 
should  be  forbidden  to  the  insane,  the  epilep- 
tic, and  the  feeble-minded.  This  is,  of  course, 
a  correct  theoretical  position,  but  such  a  law 
would  do  little  good  unless  it  were  backed  up 
by  provisions  to  care  for  and  segregate  these 
classes  in  institutions.  The  same  remark,  of 
course,  applies  to  criminals  and  vicious  per- 
sons; it  would  do  little  good  to  prohibit  mar- 
riage to  these  unless  provision  for  their  segre- 
gation were  made.  We  hear  much  now-a-days 
also,  of  laws  to  prohibit  marriage  unless  both 
parties  can  present  a  physician's  certificate 
showing  reasonable  soundness  in  body  and 
mind.  But,  again  it  must  be  said  that  the 
State  is  not  prepared  to  enforce  such  a  law  as 
yet,  because  in  present  society  many  of  the 
persons  who  need  theoretically  such  control 
would  be  practically  least  amenable  to  any 
form  of  legal  control.  On  the  other  hand, 
while  the  State  is  not  prepared  to  enforce  such 

a  law  as  yet,  on  account  of  the  low  condition 

126 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

of  public  morals,  the  Church,  which  is  supposed 
to  set  the  standard  in  ethical  conduct,  might 
very  well  require  of  all  who  come  before  it  and 
ask  for  the  sanction  of  religion  upon  their 
union,  that  they  present  some  evidence  to 
show  reasonable  soundness  in  body  and  mind. 
For  how  can  the  Church,  the  institution  which 
stands  for  ideals  in  society,  give  its  sanction 
to  a  marriage  which,  according  to  human- 
itarian doctrine,  is  essentially  unethical?  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  some  churches  in  the  United 
States  have  already  established  such  regula- 
tions for  the  marriages  solemnized  by  them, 
and  such  regulations  seem  to  work  well. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  from  what  has  been 
said  that  eugenic  regulation  of  marriage  by 
law  is  impossible.  All  that  has  been  said 
merely  implies  that  legal  regulation  of  mar- 
riage, for  the  more  defective  classes,  must  be 
backed  up  by  adequate  institutional  and  other 
social  provisions.  Eugenic  regulation  of  mar- 
riage for  the  normal  population  by  law  is,  of 
course,  entirely  possible  where  there  is  ade- 
quate backing  of  such  laws  by  public  opinion. 

127 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

As  examples  of  such  laws,  we  might  instance 
the  laws  forbidding  marriage  between  first 
cousins  and  other  near  relatives.  Careful  in- 
vestigation seems  to  show  that  the  warrant 
for  such  laws,  from  a  eugenic  or  biological 
standpoint,  is  ample.  On  account  of  the  fact 
that  many  families  have  slight  hereditary  de- 
fects, cousin  marriages  multiply  the  chances 
of  these  defects  being  perpetuated,  and  even 
intensified.  Hence,  statistics  show  that  cousin 
marriages  result  in  the  production  of  a  very 
much  larger  percentage  of  defectives  than 
marriages  between  persons  more  distantly 
related. 

Other  laws  of  a  eugenic  character,  of  course, 
are  possible  of  enforcement,  provided  public 
opinion  sufficiently  sanctions  them.  Such  a 
law,  for  example,  would  be  a  wise  law  restrict- 
ing the  class  of  immigrants  admitted  to  any 
country.  While  it  may  be  very  difficult  to 
determine  by  law,  for  the  people  who  are  al- 
ready in  any  country,  who  shall  be  permitted 
to  be  parents  of  its  future  citizens,  it  ought 

not  to  be  particularly  difficult  to  act  upon  this 

128 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

principle  with  regard  to  the  admission  of  our 
foreign  immigrants.  While  the  United  States, 
e.  g.,  have  immigration  laws  already  which 
exclude  certain  dependent  and  defective 
classes,  in  the  opinion  of  experts  these  laws 
are  still  relatively  ineffective  and  insufficient. 
An  adequate  selection  could  be  made  at  com- 
paratively small  expense  among  our  immi- 
grants to  exclude  hereditary  defectives  by 
sending  trained  field  workers  to  the  countries 
from  which  they  come. 

Another  legal  measure,  widely  advocated 
at  the  present  time  in  the  name  of  eugenics, 
is  the  sterilization  of  habitual  criminals  and 
defectives.  Eight  or  ten  American  states  have 
already  passed  laws  to  provide  for  this,  though 
few  have  had  the  courage  to  put  such  a  law 
into  operation.  The  general  opinion  of  those 
who  have  made  the  most  careful  study  of  this 
measure  is  that  it  is  a  dangerous  or,  at  least, 
a  questionable  law.  The  sterilization  of 
criminals  and  defectives  does  very  little  to 
solve  the  real  problems  which  those  classes 

occasion  in  society.     On  the  contrary,  such 

129 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

a  measure  may  intensify  other  evils.  Thus, 
the  sterilization  of  a  feeble-minded  woman 
leaving  her  at  liberty  in  society,  would  in  no 
way  remove  the  menace  which  she  is  to  the 
community,  save  it  would  prevent  her  be- 
coming the  mother  of  children.  The  unwisdom 
of  such  a  half-way  measure  as  this  must,  there- 
fore, be  manifest.  Of  course,  there  is  no  ob- 
jection to  the  programme  of  the  sterilization 
of  markedly  defective  persons  if  it  is  accom- 
panied by  their  segregation  in  institutions; 
but  in  such  a  case  sterilization  becomes  un- 
necessary. 

We  come,  therefore,  to  the  permanent 
segregation  in  institutions  of  the  more  hope- 
less types  of  defectives  as  the  only  policy 
which  society  can  afford  to  endorse  in  its  war 
against  racial  deterioration.  The  usual  ob- 
jection to  this  policy,  which  has  been  advo- 
cated for  over  a  generation  by  enlightened 
social  workers,  is  that  it  is  too  expensive; 
that  it  would  imply  an  enormous  multiplica- 
tion of  institutions.  The  reply  is  that,  while 

the  immediate  expense  of  such  a  programme 

130 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

of  institutional  development  for  defectives 
might  be  great,  yet  it  would  be  a  saving  to 
society  in  the  long  run,  an  enormous  saving  if 
the  principles  of  eugenics  are  true.  Again, 
the  expense  is  often  exaggerated.  Society 
has  already  undertaken  the  permanent  segre- 
gation of  one  of  these  classes,  namely,  the 
insane,  without  any  very  great  expense.  The 
segregation  of  the  feeble-minded  would  en- 
tail, if  anything,  less  expense  because  many 
of  these  individuals  can  be  made  largely  to 
support  themselves  in  properly  managed  in- 
stitutions of  the  farm  colony  type.  It  is  es- 
timated that  there  are,  at  least,  200,000 
feeble-minded  persons  in  the  United  States, 
a  large  percentage  of  whom  should  be  cared 
for  in  institutions.  As  yet,  however,  only  five 
states  require  feeble-minded  persons  to  be 
committed  to  institutions  just  as  the  insane 
are  committed  by  public  authorities.  Provi- 
sions for  the  chronic  epileptic  class,  a  very 
dangerous  defective  class,  are  even  more  de- 
ficient. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  wherever  the 

131 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

policy  of  segregation  has  been  tried  it  has 
proved  effective.  Thus,  in  northern  Italy 
in  the  province  of  Aosta,  there  existed  for 
centuries  a  class  of  hereditary  defectives 
known  as  cretins.  These  cretins  suffered 
from  a  peculiar  form  of  idiocy  or  imbecility 
associated  with  the  degeneration  of  the  thy- 
roid gland  which  was  hereditary.  For  a 
time,  owing  to  their  marriage  being  encouraged 
by  the  Church,  their  numbers  greatly  in- 
creased. In  1890,  however,  a  policy  of  segre- 
gation was  adopted,  and  by  1910  only  a 
single  cretin  and  three  demi-cretins  were  left 
where  hundreds  had  existed  before.  Modern 
society,  therefore,  cannot  enter  too  soon  upon 
this  policy  of  segregation  of  pronounced  de- 
fectives. There  can  be  no  question,  moreover, 
as  to  the  humanitarian  grounds  for  such  a 
policy,  because  it  has  been  demonstrated 
that  such  defective  persons  are  nearly  always 
happier  and  better  cared  for  in  institutions 
than  they  would  be  outside,  and  they  do  not 
entail  future  generations  with  the  burden  of 

their  defects. 

132 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

Such  is  the  extent  to  which  the  law  can  go 
wisely  in  aiding  the  eugenics  movement. 
What  law  cannot  accomplish,  however,  can 
be  accomplished  oftentimes  by  public  opin- 
ion and  public  sentiment.  Thus,  it  might  be 
unwise,  for  example,  at  the  present,  either  to 
forbid  marriage  to  or  provide  for  the  segrega- 
tion of  certain  classes  in  our  population  suf- 
fering merely  from  hereditary  physical  de- 
fects. But  because  these  persons  are  normal 
mentally  we  might  expect  through  the  pres- 
sure of  public  opinion  to  bring  them  to  forego 
marriage  and  parenthood.  Such  a  class,  for 
example,  is  the  class  of  congenital  or  hereditary 
deaf-mutes.  This  is  a  defect  which  is  highly 
transmissible  if  persons  of  this  class  inter- 
marry. On  the  other  hand,  many  congenital 
deaf-mutes  are  highly  intelligent  persons. 
It  would  seem  desirable,  neither  to  segregate 
this  class  nor  to  forbid  them  legal  marriage, 
but  to  develop  in  them,  through  education 
and  the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  a  eugenic 
conscience  which,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, would  probably  lead  the  person 

133 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

suffering     from     such     a     defect     not     to 
marry. 

Here,  of  course,  questions  may  be  raised 
which  it  is  impossible  as  yet  to  answer  with 
definiteness.  Most  hereditary  defects  be- 
have, as  the  biologists  would  say,  as  recessive 
characters,  that  is,  they  do  not  appear  in  the 
first  generation  of  children  when  persons 
having  such  defects  intermarry  with  the 
normal  population.  Hence,  it  has  been  said 
by  some  eugenists  that  if  defective  persons 
would  continually  marry  outside  their  defec- 
tive class,  these  defects  would  gradually  disap- 
pear from  the  germ  plasm,  and  there  would 
be,  therefore,  no  eugenic  objection  to  such 
marriages.  But  the  danger  of  such  a  doctrine 
is  obvious.  There  are  so  many  defective 
stocks  in  existing  society  that  the  chances 
would  be  great  that  some  of  the  children  of 
the  first  generation  who  appeared  normal 
might  intermarry  with  a  stock  having  a 
similar  defect,  then  the  defect  would  reappear 
in  individuals.  In  this  way  defectiveness 

would   be  scattered   in   society   rather   than 

134 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

eliminated.  The  safe  counsel  would,  there- 
fore, appear  to  be  that  persons  having  them- 
selves marked  physical  or  mental  defects 
should  forego  marriage  altogether,  while  per- 
sons who  come  from  family  stocks  in  which 
it  is  known  such  defects  exist,  should  be  care- 
ful to  intermarry  only  with  normal  persons. 
In  this  case  there  would  be  no  danger  of  the 
defect  reappearing  in  later  generations. 

Since  much  work  still  remains  to  be  done  in 
the  scientific  investigation  of  human  heredity, 
no  hard  and  fast  rules  can  be  made  for  such 
cases  as  we  have  just  discussed.  For  the 
present,  therefore,  the  safe  policy  would  seem 
to  be  to  leave  such  matters  to  enlightened 
individual  conscience  to  decide. 

Such,  then,  is  the  negative  programme  of 
eugenics.  It  would  be  a  great  mistake,  how- 
ever, to  think  of  the  eugenics  movement  as 
entirely,  or  even  chiefly,  negative,  aiming 
simply  at  the  elimination  of  hereditary  de- 
fects in  human  stocks.63  On  the  contrary,  the 

6 'One  must  not  forget  the  problem  of  quantity  as 
135 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

founder  of  the  eugenics  movement,  Sir  Francis 
Galton,  himself  considered  the  movement  to 
be  primarily  positive,  aiming  at  the  encour- 
agement of  marriage  and  parenthood  among 
the  classes  of  superior  endowments.  In  his 
own  language  "The  aim  of  eugenics  is  to 
bring  as  many  influences  as  can  be  reasonably 
employed,  to  cause  the  useful  classes  in  the 
community  to  contribute  more  than  their 
proportion  to  the  next  generation."  As  we 
have  seen  at  the  present  time  the  birth  rate 
has  fallen  greatly  among  the  socially  more 
fortunate  classes,  those  best  fitted  to  meet 

well  as  quality  in  a  population.  Says  Ferrero:  "One  of 
the  reasons  why  all  the  most  ancient  civilizations  have 
perished  is  that  at  the  moment  of  their  greatest  glory 
the  population  suddenly  began  to  dwindle;  and  this 
sterility  which  killed  them  was  the  effect  to  a  large 
extent  of  the  license  of  their  customs.  Love  remains 
fertile  only  so  long  as  it  restrains  and  limits  itself. 
Christianity,  by  subjecting  men's  customs  to  disci- 
pline— one  of  its  noblest  services  to  mankind — suc- 
ceeded for  centuries  in  maintaining  in  Europe  and 
America  an  incessant  fertility,  which  has  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  most  potent  causes  of  the  increase  of  our 
power." 

136 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

the  burdens  of  parenthood,  in  other  words, 
if  not  best  endowed  with  ability.  It  is  re- 
liably estimated  that  at  the  present  time 
one-fourth  of  the  married  population  produce 
one-half  of  the  next  generation,  and  there  is 
much  evidence  to  show  that  a  large  proportion 
of  this  prolific  one-fourth  is  made  up  of  in- 
dividuals of  mediocre,  if  not  defective,  natural 
endowments. 

The  problem  of  positive  eugenics  becomes, 
therefore,  how  society  can  encourage  its 
better  endowed  men  and  women  to  contribute 
more  than  their  proportion  to  the  next  genera- 
tion. In  other  words,  how  it  can  encourage 
marriage  and  parenthood  among  the  truly 
better  elements  of  society.  Here,  again,  the 
eugenics  movement  is  beset  by  many  practical 
difficulties.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
state,  in  certain  instances,  should  compensate 
parents  for  the  birth  and  rearing  of  children. 
It  has  often  been  truly  said  that  the  mother 
who  bears  and  rears  children  is  serving  the 
state  not  less  than  the  soldier  who  serves  upon 

the  battle  field.    Hence  we  hear  a  great  deal 

137 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

about  public  pensions  to  mothers  and  "moth- 
ers' compensation."  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
of  course,  about  the  service  to  society  of  a 
mother  who  bears  and  rears  normal  children. 
The  only  question  is  whether  such  a  service 
as  this  should  be  compensated  in  a  financial 
way.  Are  we  going  to  put  every  service  which 
individuals  render  to  society  upon  a  monetary 
basis?  Or,  are  there  not  some  services  which 
we  cannot  pay  adequately  for  with  money? 
and  which  we  should  not  attempt  to  pay  for 
with  money  because  it  degrades  them?  Is 
not  parenthood  such  a  service?  Would  not 
the  women  who  would  accept  compensation 
for  motherhood  be  the  very  sort  of  women 
whom  we  might  least  desire  to  be  mothers? 
Of  course  society  should  not  penalize  marriage 
and  parenthood  on  the  part  of  its  men  and 
women  of  ability,  through  industrial,  political 
or  other  arrangements,  as  it  doubtless  does, 
to  some  extent,  at  the  present  time.  It  should 
not,  for  example,  produce  a  "reversal  of  se- 
lection" by  such  economic  and  social  arrange- 
ments as  to  make  marriage  among  its  edu- 

138 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

cated  classes  practically  impossible  before  the 
age  of  thirty  or  as  to  make  celibacy  almost 
a  practical  necessity  for  some  among  them. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  society  cannot  safely 
enter  upon  any  pecuniary  method  of  encour- 
aging marriage  and  parenthood  even  among 
those  elements  that  might  meet  the  test  of 
certain  qualifications,  because  such  methods 
would  defeat  the  very  end  at  which  they  are 
aimed.54 

We,  then,  must  give  up  for  the  present, 
at  least,  the  idea  of  the  encouragement  of 
parenthood  in  any  material  way.  The  whole 
question,  therefore,  of  positive  eugenics  re- 
duces itself  at  once  to  the  question  of  the 
ideals  of  life  which  we  should  encourage  in 
the  young.  It,  therefore,  becomes  primarily 

54  This  must  not  be  taken  to  mean  the  condemnation 
of  the  practice  of  advanced  nations  in  remitting  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  taxation  to  families  where  there  are 
children  under  a  certain  age,  or  the  practice  of  granting 
"maternal  benefits"  in  industrial  insurance,, schemes, 
such  as  that  of  Great  Britain.  The  condemnation  is 
only  of  direct  pecuniary  methods  of  encouraging  mar- 
riage and  parenthood. 

139 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

a  matter  of  education  rather  than  of  legisla- 
tion. The  question  involved  is  evidently 
that  of  moral  education  along  the  lines  of  sex, 
marriage,  and  the  family.  A  large  part  of  the 
programme  of  the  eugenist  must  be  to  induce 
young  people,  as  Dr.  C.  B.  Davenport  says, 
"to  make  a  more  reasonable  selection  of 
marriage  mates;  to  fall  in  love  intelligently." 
This  means,  of  course,  that  young  men  and 
women  must,  even  at  a  very  early  age,  be 
given  right  ideals  of  marriage  and  parenthood. 
If  they  are  to  make  a  more  reasonable  selec- 
tion of  mates,  not  only  must  the  widest 
acquaintance  between  young  people  be  en- 
couraged by  society,  but  they  must  also  be 
given  other  standards  of  selection  than  most 
of  them  have  at  the  present  time.  The  ideals 
of  good  manners,  social  popularity,  good  looks, 
and  wealth,  must  be  replaced  with  the  ideals 
of  health,  intellectual  ability,  and  moral 
character.  When  these  latter  qualities  come 
to  be  put  first  in  the  mutual  choice  of  the 
sexes  in  marriage,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 

the  benefit  to  society  will  be  incalculable. 

140 


PHYSICAL    ELEMENTS 

However,  something  more  than  the  develop- 
ment of  right  ideals  in  our  young  people  re- 
garding marriage  is  necessary  for  the  pro- 
gramme of  positive  eugenics.  That  some- 
thing more  is  education  for  parenthood.  We 
hear  much  of  education  for  good  citizenship, 
but  is  not  a  most  important  part  of  good  citi- 
zenship the  right  fulfilling  of  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  parenthood?  By  education 
for  parenthood,  we  mean  not  so  much  educa- 
tion in  the  care  and  rearing  of  young  children, 
important  as  that  may  be,  but,  also,  instruc- 
tion of  the  proper  sort  along  the  lines  of  hered- 
ity, sex  morality,  and  the  social  importance 
of  the  family.  Hitherto,  such  education  has 
been  mainly  left  to  the  family  itself,  but,  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  many  families  do  not 
function  educationally  in  this  matter,  it  would 
seem  necessary  to  introduce,  in  a  wise  way, 
some  of  this  instruction  in  our  public  schools, 
from  the  kindergarten  up.  At  any  rate,  there 
can  be  no  question  that  some  public  educa- 
tional agency  must  supplement  the  home 

along  these  lines.     Of  course,  the  Church,  as 

141 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

the  institution  charged  with  the  conservation 
and  propagation  of  moral  ideals  in  society, 
is  best  fitted  to  be  this  agency;  only  the  Church 
fails  to  reach  great  masses  of  our  population, 
and  as  yet  is  not  fully  awake  to  its  duties  along 
these  lines.  Sir  Francis  Galton's  opinion, 
indeed,  was  that  the  eugenics  movement 
could  scarcely  reach  the  masses  without  the 
development  of  a  eugenic  religion.  Eugenic 
religions  have  already  existed,  to  some  extent, 
in  the  past,  notably  Judaism.  Christianity, 
with  its  doctrine  of  the  love  of  humanity  and 
the  service  of  man,  ought  to  be  especially  fitted 
to  aid  a  rational  eugenics  programme  in  mod- 
ern society.  At  any  rate,  eugenics  cannot 
succeed  without  the  development  of  a  eugenic 
conscience,  and  such  a  conscience  can  best  be 
developed  in  the  masses  probably  through  the 
aid  of  religious  agencies. 

We  must,  then,  give  an  important  place  to 
the  eugenics  movement  in  the  solution  of  the 
social  problem.  It  has  insisted  upon  certain 

vital  truths  which  society  cannot  afford  to 

142 


PHYSICAL   ELEMENTS 

ignore,  and  it  has  brought  a  great,  new  hope 
into  the  world.  As  an  undergraduate  the 
writer  was  told  in  his  course  in  sociology  that 
heredity  was  a  factor  beyond  human  control; 
that  the  most  man  might  aspire  to  was  the 
control  over  certain  forces  in  the  environ- 
ment. Such  a  statement  was  perhaps  justified 
at  the  time;  but  the  progress  of  scientific 
knowledge  of  heredity  and  the  rise  of  the 
eugenics  movement  give  grounds  for  the  hope 
that  mankind  may  yet  exercise  in  some  degree 
a  rational  control  over  its  own  heredity;  may, 
in  other  words,  intelligently  modify  the  quali- 
ties of  the  race  itself,  rather  than  leave  these 
to  be  determined  simply  by  the  blind  forces 
of  physical  nature. 

Moreover,  the  moral  aspects  of  the  eugenics 
movement  must  not  be  overlooked.  Its  whole 
trend  is  to  place  marriage  and  the  family 
upon  a  much  higher  basis  than  it  has  hitherto 
had  in  human  society;  upon  a  basis,  not  of 
the  mere  individual  happiness  of  the  married 
parties,  but  of  service  of  "the  humanity  which 

is  to  be."    The  eugenics  movement  is,  there- 

143 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

fore,  decidedly  humanitarian;  and  if  society 
will  heed  its  message,  it  will  find  its  life  in 
every  way  more  normal  and  "the  social  prob- 
lem" much  more  easy  of  solution. 


144 


CHAPTER  IV 

ECONOMIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

TT^OR  more  than  a  century  social  thought 
in  Western  civilization  has  been  pre- 
dominantly economic.  The  consciousness  of 
the  social  problem  among  the  mass  of  the 
people  has  been  very  largely  in  economic 
terms.  To  a  certain  extent  this  attitude  of  the 
popular  mind  is  no  doubt  justifiable.  The 
importance  of  the  economic  element  in  the 
social  problem  of  to-day,  at  any  rate,  is  so 
large  that  we  cannot  even  begin  to  under- 
stand the  problem  without  understanding 
the  economic  conditions  which  have  played 
such  a  large  part  in  creating  it.  We  shall  at- 
tempt, therefore,  in  this  chapter  to  make 
a  brief  analysis  of  this  element  and  to  corre- 
late it  with  the  other  elements  involved  in 
our  problem. 

The  importance  of  the  economic  element  in 

the  social  problem  has,  indeed,  given  rise  to 

145 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

one  of  the  peculiar  philosophies  of  the  present, 
a  philosophy  which  interprets  the  whole  of 
human  living  in  predominantly  economic 
terms.  This  is  the  social  philosophy  which  is 
ordinarily  called  "economic  determinism"  or 
"historical  materialism,"  though  it  has  also  a 
number  of  other  names.  Not  only  is  this 
social  philosophy  preached  at  the  present  time 
from  the  housetops,  having  been  made  a  part 
of  the  creed  of  a  great  political  party,  but  it 
is  too  often  taught  from  the  professor's  chair 
in  our  leading  institutions  of  learning.  Thus 
we  find  an  eminent  American  sociologist  say- 
ing that  the  spiritual  part  of  civilization  "does 
not  need  to  be  specially  fostered;"  that  with 
suitable  material  and  economic  conditions  it 
requires  no  special  attention,  but  will  come 
to  full  bloom  of  itself  if  given  these  condi- 
tions.55 This  view,  of  course,  implies  that  the 
ideas,  ideals,  and  values  which  make  civiliza- 
tion, as  we  have  seen,  are  entirely  determined 
in  their  development  by  economic  conditions. 
While  no  sociologist  who  sets  out  to  interpret 

66  Ward,  Pure  Sociology,  p.  18. 
146 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

human  history  with  this  view  can  long  adhere 
to  it  consistently,  yet,  unfortunately,  these 
views  come  to  be  taken  up  by  the  mass  of 
men  who  build  upon  them  equally  one-sided 
practical  programmes.  "Make  economic  con- 
ditions right,"  they  cry,  "and  other  things 
will  take  care  of  themselves."  The  laissez- 
faire  attitude  of  the  social  philosophy  of  the 
early  nineteenth  century  has  entirely  broken 
down  with  reference  to  economic  conditions; 
but  it  has  not  yet  broken  down  in  some  classes 
with  reference  to  other  social  conditions. 
These  classes  find  in  economic  determinism  an 
easy  refuge  from  assuming  social  responsibility 
and  control  over  all  the  conditions  of  life. 

We  are  very  far,  indeed,  from  asserting  that 
this  popular  social  philosophy  of  the  present 
has  not  a  large  element  of  truth  in  it;  nor  is  it 
difficult  to  discover  just  the  measure  of  its 
truth.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of 
the  main  features  of  modern  civilization  have 
really  been  determined  by  our  present  in- 
dustrial system.  The  way  in  which  people 

147 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

get  their  living  has  in  all  ages  been  a  most 
influential  factor  in  their  general  living.  The 
methods  of  producing  and  distributing  wealth, 
in  other  words,  must  in  the  very  nature  of 
things  greatly  influence  the  whole  culture  of 
a  people.  In  a  certain  sense  the  dependence 
of  man  upon  economic  conditions  in  the  strict 
sense,  indeed,  increases  as  civilization  ad- 
vances; for  through  the  labour  of  countless 
generations  and  through  the  force  of  tradition 
and  established  institutions,  the  economic  en- 
vironment comes  to  have  a  good  deal  of  the 
same  relation  to  civilized  man  that  the  geo- 
graphic environment  had  to  primitive  man. 
We  know  how  largely  primitive  man  was  a 
slave  of  geographic  conditions;  so,  too,  mod- 
ern man  is  so  dependent  upon  his  economic 
surroundings  that  we  cannot  conceive  of  him 
existing  apart  from  them.  But,  to  repeat  the 
illustration  used  in  Chapter  III,  to  say  that 
we  could  not  live  if  the  sun  should  cease  to 
exist  is  very  different  from  saying  that  the 
sun  determines  all  of  our  goings  and  comings. 

In  other  words,  we  may  cordially  acknowledge 

148 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

the  complete  dependence  of  civilized  man 
upon  the  economic  system  under  which  he 
lives  without  acknowledging  that  that  sys- 
tem determines,  even  in  the  long  run,  all  his 
ways  of  feeling,  thinking,  and  acting.56 

Just  what  part  of  modern  civilization,  then, 
does  the  economic  element  determine?  It 
is  not  difficult  to  answer.  The  most  ordinary 
superficial  observation  shows  that  our  eco- 
nomic system  determines  the  great  outline, 
the  framework,  so  to  speak,  of  our  civilization. 
For  example,  the  modern  great  city  is  almost 
entirely  a  product  of  modern  industry.  The 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  scarcely 
knew  such  cities.  Not  until  the  industrial 
revolution  began  to  make  itself  felt  toward 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  did  cities 
begin  greatly  to  multiply.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  scarce  four  per  cent 
of  the  population  of  the  United  States  lived 

68  For  a  more  elaborate  discussion  of  economic 
determinism  see  the  writer's  article  on  "Marx's  Eco- 
nomic Determinism  in  the  Light  of  Modern  Psychology  " 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  July,  1911. 

149 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

in  cities,  while  in  1910  over  forty  per  cent  lived 
under  urban  conditions  and  nearly  one-fourth 
of  the  population  were  dwellers  in  fifty  great 
cities.  One  predominant  trait  of  modern 
civilization,  the  tendency  to  develop  sharply 
contrasting  urban  and  rural  populations,  un- 
doubtedly owes  its  existence  to  the  rise  of  our 
present  economic  system.  For  when  we  ex- 
amine the  causes  of  the  growth  of  cities,  it 
becomes  clearly  apparent  that  these  causes 
are  almost  wholly  economic.  The  industrial 
revolution  which  came  through  the  invention 
of  labour-saving  machines  transferred  industry, 
as  we  have  seen,  from  the  home  and  the  work- 
shop to  the  factory.  Economic  reasons  compel 
the  grouping  of  these  factories  at  certain 
strategic  points  in  the  highways  of  trade  and 
commerce,  while  specialization  of  factories, 
communities  and  even  nations  in  various 
branches  of  industry  increased  commerce  and 
multiplied  the  population  engaged  in  com- 
merce at  the  same  points.  Almost  simultane- 
ously the  application  of  labour-saving  ma- 
chinery and  of  scientific  methods  to  agricul- 

150 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

ture  liberated  vast  numbers  of  men  from  the 
soil.  These  had  to  find  employment  elsewhere 
and  they  found  it  in  the  manufacturing  and 
commerce  of  the  city.  Not  the  love  of  amuse- 
ment, nor  facilities  for  education  and  culture 
have  been  responsible,  in  a  word,  for  the 
growth  of  our  cities,  but  certain  compelling 
economic  necessities  of  our  time. 

Now,  the  city  has  come  to  dominate  Western 
civilization.  It  touches  the  life  and  character 
of  everyone,  no  matter  whether  he  lives  in  the 
city  or  in  the  rural  districts.  The  city  of  the 
present  gives  a  certain  form  and  character, 
therefore,  to  our  whole  civilization,  both 
urban  and  rural.  This  is  equivalent  to  saying 
that  the  economic  conditions  which  have 
given  rise  to  the  city  have  touched  life  at 
every  point.  Illustrations  of  a  similar  nature 
could  be  indefinitely  multiplied  with  reference 
to  other  features  of  our  civilization.  But  when 
we  have  conceded  that  modern  industry  has 
shaped  the  main  outlines  of  our  civilization, 
that  is  not  sufficient  warrant  for  concluding 
that  our  industrial  system  determines  every- 

151 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

thing  in  our  social  life.  On  the  contrary,  it 
needs  but  little  investigation  to  show  that 
there  are  many  intimate  personal  relations 
between  individuals  which  are  very  far  from 
being  determined  by  the  economic  system 
under  which  we  live.  Men  still  think  and  feel 
and  act  in  these  intimate  relations  not  so 
differently  from  what  they  did  long  before  the 
present  economic  system  was  born.  Many 
of  the  ideas,  ideals,  and  values  by  which  men 
live,  in  other  words,  far  antedate  our  present 
economic  system,  and  will  probably  survive 
long  after  it  is  dead.  It  is  not  true,  therefore, 
that  the  spiritual  elements  in  life,  and  espe- 
cially not  those  contained  in  moral,  religious, 
and  artistic  ideas  and  ideals,  are  determined 
by  methods  of  producing  and  distributing 
wealth.  The  economic  system  constrains  us 
and  even  has,  as  we  shall  see,  a  seductive  in- 
fluence upon  our  ideas  and  ideals,  but  it  does 
not  and  it  cannot  enchain  the  soul  of  man. 

Nevertheless,   our  economic  system  is  so 

intimately    wrapped    up    with    the    modern 

152 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

social  problem,  as  we  have  already  said,  that 
there  is  no  solution  of  that  problem  unless 
we  can  provide  a  better  industrial  system 
than  the  present  world  has  yet  realized.  It 
may  be  that  what  the  world  needs  most  of 
all  is  a  new  soul,  a  new  system  of  values,  but 
it  cannot  get  this  new  soul  in  any  adequate 
or  complete  way  until  it  has  a  new  industrial 
system.  Our  present  system  of  industry, 
in  other  words,  is  such  that  it  hampers  and 
restricts  the  social  and  spiritual  development 
of  mankind.  The  sooner  this  is  recognized 
and  understood,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the 
world.  Just  as  human  slavery  at  a  certain 
period  came  to  be  a  stumbling  block  to  all 
further  progress,  so  modern  capitalism  has 
come  to  be  a  similar  stumbling  block. 

The  present  economic  order,  which  we  may 
call  that  of  capitalistic  industry,  came  in, 
as  we  have  seen,  with  the  industrial  revolution; 
when  the  invention  of  machinery  and  the 
development  of  the  factory  system  made  it 
no  longer  possible  for  the  working  man  to 

have   the   same   freedom   and   independence 

153 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

which  he  once  enjoyed,  when  he  owned  the 
tools  of  his  industry  and  perhaps  the  little 
shop  in  which  he  worked.  The  invention  of 
labour-saving  machinery  was,  to  be  sure,  an 
epoch-making  step  in  the  progress  of  mankind, 
but  because  of  the  costliness  of  this  machinery 
and  of  the  great  factory  in  which  it  was  in- 
stalled, it  inevitably  robbed,  for  a  time,  at 
least,  the  working  man  of  a  large  part  of  his 
economic  liberty;  and  it  placed  industry  in 
the  hands  of  the  wealthy  who  could  supply 
the  capital  which  was  necessary  to  carry 
it  on  under  the  factory  system.  Thus  was 
modern  capitalism  born.  Now,  what  we  are 
concerned  to  point  out  is  that  modern  capital- 
ism must  not  be  confused  with  the  wage- 
earning  system.  It  has  sometimes  been  said 
that  we  have  capitalism  wherever  one  man 
works  for  another.  But  if  this  is  true,  capital- 
ism has  existed  since  the  dawn  of  civilization. 
All  social  life  necessitates  that  one  man  work 
for  another  and  from  very  early  times  men 
have  worked  for  wages.  Capitalism,  in  the 

true  sense  in  which  we  shall  use  the  term, 

154 


ECONOMIC   ELEMENTS 

exists  only  where  such  vast  aggregations  of 
capital  are  necessary  to  carry  on  a  given  line  of 
industry  that  in  that  line  the  working  men 
become  practically  dependent  upon  the  wealthy 
capitalistic  class.  But  these  conditions  have 
beome  so  general  in  the  modern  world  that 
all  Western  civilization  can  now  be  said  to 
represent  a  capitalistic  society.  Capitalism, 
at  any  rate,  dominates  our  present  civiliza- 
tion. 

But  what  are  the  objections  to  capitalism? 
Why  must  it  be  regarded  as  a  stumbling  block 
to  the  higher  social  and  moral  development 
of  mankind?  The  reply  is  that  there  are  cer- 
tain characteristic  features  of  capitalism  as 
it  at  present  exists  in  society  which  constitute 
such  a  damaging  indictment  against  it  that 
the  most  thoughtful  students  of  social  condi- 
tions everywhere  are  uniting  in  condemning  it. 

In  the  first  place,  capitalism  leads  to  the 
exploitation  of  labour,  that  is  the  selfish  use 
of  one  man  by  another.  It  is  often  said  that 

the  way  to  get  rich  is  to  get  other  people  to 

151 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

work  for  you.  If,  however,  other  people 
received  a  just  compensation  for  their  labour, 
a  just  wage,  covering  practically  the  product 
of  their  labour,  no  one  would  get  rich  very 
rapidly  this  way.  What  is  meant  is,  that 
under  present  conditions  it  is  easily  possible 
for  the  rich  and  economically  successful  in 
society  to  get  the  economically  weak  to  work 
for  them  under  such  conditions  that  they  need 
not  pay  them  a  full  compensation  for  the 
service  they  render.  This  is  all  the  easier, 
not  only  because  of  the  dependence  of  the 
economically  weak,  but  because  moral  stand- 
ards have  traditionally  sanctioned  such  prac- 
tices. It  is  considered  simply  good  business 
to  hire  labour  in  as  cheap  a  market  as  can  be 
found;  to  pay  no  more  to  the  labouring  man 
than  what  is  barely  necessary  under  a  system  of 
competitive  bidding  of  labouring  men  against 
one  another.  Hence,  the  tendency  has  been 
often  to  force  wages  down  to  what  was  neces- 
sary for  the  bare  subsistence  of  the  labouring 
man  and  his  family.  Indeed,  wages  have 

tended  to  go  lower  than  that  and  to  establish 

156 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

themselves  in  some  instances  upon  what  is 
known  as  the  single  man's  standard. 

Another  objection  to  capitalism  is  that  it 
results  in  an  unjust  distribution  of  wealth. 
From  the  very  fact  that  it  gives  undue  oppor- 
tunities for  the  exploitation  of  labour  it  must 
result  in  certain  wealth  going  to  the  employ- 
ing class,  which  justly  belongs  to  the  labouring 
class.  Now,  there  can  be  no  doubt  at  all  but 
that  if  we  take  the  labouring  class  as  a  whole 
in  modern  industrial  communities,  they  are 
not  adequately  paid  for  their  work.  It  is 
estimated  that  in  the  United  States,  for  ex- 
ample, where  wages  are  higher  than  in  any 
other  advanced  industrial  nation,  sixty-five 
per  cent  of  the  labourers  receive  wages  of  less 
than  six  hundred  dollars  a  year.  On  the 
other  hand,  according  to  the  figures  of  the 
United  States  Census,  the  profits  in  manufac- 
turing industry  in  the  year  1909  were  about 
twelve  per  cent  after  due  allowance  for  in- 
terest, insurance,  taxes  and  all  other  fixed 

charges  on  the  total  capital  epaployed.     In 

157 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

other  words,  the  capitalist  class  received  in 
addition  to  "interest"  in  manufacturing  in- 
dustry in  1909,  about  twelve  per  cent  of 
"profits."  On  the  other  hand,  only  a  little 
over  fifty-one  per  cent  of  the  total  value  of 

Iff  V' 

the  product  added  #J  manufacturing  went  to 
working  men  and  other  employees  in  the  form 
of  wages  or  salaries.  It  will  be  seen  from  these 
figures,  even  though  they  are  by  no  means  ac- 
curate, that  the  working  man  is  still  very  far 
from  receiving  a  just  share  of  the  product  of 
his  labour;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
comparatively  small  class  of  owners  receive 
in  addition  to  the  interest  on  their  capital  a 
considerable  margin  of  "speculative  profit. " 

Now,  there  may  be  some  question  raised  as 
to  the  rightfulness  of  interest,  and  this  ques- 
tion is,  of  course,  already  raised  by  the  social- 
ists and  many  other  types  of  radical  social 
thinkers.  But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  ele- 
ment of  "speculative  profit"  which  is  now 
going  to  the  capitalist  class?  If  there  is  any 
question  to  be  raised  as  to  the  legitimacy  of 

interest,  much  more  could  it  be  raised  of  this 

158 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

element  of  so-called  private  profit.  We  may 
assume  that  interest,  wages  of  superintend- 
ence, and  the  like,  are  a  part  of  "necessary 
profits,"  without  which  business  cannot  be 
carried  on  upon  a  basis  of  private  ownership 
and  initiative.  But  "speculative  profits" 
are  not  "necessary  profits"  and  they  repre- 
sent in  no  sense  a  compensation  for  services 
rendered  to  the  community.  The  whole 
modern  industrial  world,  however,  has  be- 
come so  accustomed  to  looking  upon  specula- 
tive profits  as  justly  belonging  to  the  owner 
or  proprietor  of  a  business  that  it  refuses  to 
think  that  business  can  be  carried  on  upon  any 
other  basis.  A  large  proportion  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  world,  however,  has  always  been 
carried  on  without  any  elements  of  specula- 
tive profit  in  it.  It  has  had  to  remain  satis- 
fied with  necessary  profits,  interest  and  wages 
of  superintendence,  in  other  words,  with  ade- 
quate compensation  for  service  rendered.  If 
business  were  for  service  and  not  for  private 
profit,  there  would  be  no  element  of  specula- 
tive profits  demanded  by  the  capitalist  class. 

159 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

Whether  the  capitalist  class  is  entitled  to 
interest  or  not,  is  probably  a  question  con- 
cerning which  there  will  be  many  debates  in 
the  future.  But  it  would  seem  safe  to  say  at 
the  present  time  that  the  capitalist  class  is 
certainly  not  entitled  to  "speculative  profits" 
in  the  same  sense  or  degree  even  to  which  it 
is  entitled  to  "interest";  and  that  if  for 
reasons  of  public  policy  speculative  gains  are 
allowed  to  go  to  private  individuals  they  can- 
not regard  themselves  as  entitled  to  them  in 
the  same  sense  in  which  they  are  entitled  to 
property  got  by  service  rendered  the  com- 
munity. We  must  distinguish,  in  other  words, 
between  "earnings"  and  "findings"  in  the 
income  of  all  classes,  and  speculative  profit 
is  certainly  "a  finding." 

Now,  the  result  of  the  appropriation  of  these 
"findings"  or  speculative  profits  by  the  capi- 
talist class  is  the  enormous  enrichment  of  the 
capitalist  class  and  the  poverty  of  the  labour- 
ing class.  Poverty,  to  be  sure,  is  not  the  great- 
est evil  in  the  world,  as  so  many  of  the  writers 

of  the  present  assume.     Poverty,  indeed,  is 

160 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

not  an  evil  at  all  when  the  circumstances  are 
such  that  one  can  readily  raise  one's  self  out 
of  poverty.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with 
modern  industrial  poverty.  Much  of  the 
poverty  of  the  modern  world,  in  other  words, 
is  of  the  hopeless  sort,  from  which  strong  and 
capable  individuals  cannot  extricate  them- 
selves. Now,  hopeless  poverty  is  not  only 
depressing  but  easily  becomes  positively  de- 
moralizing to  the  individual.  It  robs  him  not 
only  of  hope  but  also  of  the  higher  moral  as- 
pirations of  life.  Thus  poverty  which  is  hope- 
less becomes  degrading  and  becomes  linked 
with  degeneracy,  vice,  and  crime.  With  our 
easy  theory  that  every  one  can  look  out  for 
himself,  and  that  rich  and  poor  alike  are  en- 
titled to  all  that  they  can  get  and  all  that  they 
can  keep,  we  have  thus  allowed  to  grow  up  in 
Western  civilization  a  propertyless  labouring 
class  who  have  no  interest  in  the  future,  for 
they  are  without  hope  that  they  can  extricate 
themselves  from  their  present  position  save 
by  revolution. 

Another  result  of  this  unjust  distribution 
161 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

of  wealth  which  capitalism  has  brought  about 
is  the  breeding  of  war  between  the  classes  in 
society,  between  the  propertied  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  propertyless  on  the  other.  Now, 
class  war  is  not  a  normal  thing  in  a  properly 
organized  human  society;  but  it  is  an  ominous 
and  an  almost  omnipresent  thing  in  Western 
civilization.  Sympathy  and  goodwill  unite 
men  in  harmonious  social  life,  but  hatred  and 
antagonism  dissolve  all  social  bonds.  Unless 
we  can  overcome  the  class  antagonism  which 
is  growing  up,  we  must  come,  sooner  or  later, 
to  open  and  bloody  conflicts  in  Western  na- 
tions between  the  labouring  and  the  capi- 
talistic class.  From  that  conflict,  as  we  have 
already  insisted,  it  is  improbable  that  a  higher 
and  more  stable  civilization  would  issue. 

So,  too,  capitalism  has  needlessly  increased 
the  antagonism  between  nations.67  Through 

67  That  capitalism  tends  to  peace  is,  of  course,  often 
asserted,  and  it  should  not  be  ignored  that  capitalism 
of  a  certain  type  may  tend  strongly  to  preserve  peace 
between  nations.  This  is  capitalism  of  the  conservative 
of  "investment"  type  which  has  given  up  "speculative 

162 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

their  control  of  government,  the  capitalist 
class  in  Western  civilization  have  often  used 
the  machinery  of  the  State  to  promote  their 
own  interests.  They  have  demanded  new 
markets  for  their  goods  and  immense  arma- 
ments to  protect  trade  and  commerce,  and 
have  not  scrupled  to  use  Machiavellian  state- 
craft to  reach  their  ends.  They  have  thus 
bred  war  and  the  spirit  of  war  between  nations. 
The  present  war  between  European  nations 
again  shows  this.  While  we  have  insisted 
upon  the  deep  moral  causes  of  the  present 
war,  as  due  in  last  analysis  to  conflicting  tra- 
ditions and  ideals  of  life  in  Western  civiliza- 
tion, and  while  socialism  we  believe  to  be  no 
guarantee  against  either  national  egoism  or 
moral  atavism;  yet  it  would  be  most  unjust 
to  overlook  the  obvious  truth  that  the  war 

enterprise."  But,  on  the  other  hand,  capitalism  of  the 
"exploitative"  type  is  continually  giving  rise  to  bicker- 
ings and  jealousies  between  nations.  And  it  is  not 
unfair  to  say  that  the  capitalism  of  the  speculative, 
"exploitative"  type  has  hitherto  dominated  in  Western 
civilization,  and  has  had  a  large  share  in  provoking 
many  wars,  among  them  the  present  one. 

163 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

has  also  been  due  to  the  long  development  of 
an  intense  economic  rivalry  between  the  two 
great  capitalistic  nations — Great  Britain  and 
Germany,  in  both  of  which  the  government 
has  been  for  a  long  period  more  or  less  domi- 
nated by  the  capitalist  class.  The  older  capi- 
talism of  England  looked  with  suspicion  upon 
the  newer  capitalism  of  Germany  with  its 
bid  for  the  markets  of  the  world.  This  led 
British  capitalism  to  use  the  resources  of 
British  diplomacy  and  prestige  to  block  the 
commercial  and  political  expansion  of  Ger- 
many in  Africa  and  Asia; 58  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  military-capitalist  class  of  Germany, 
backed  by  an  astounding  philosophy  of  na- 
tional and  racial  egoism,59  slowly  fanned  into 

68  The  reference  is,  of  course,  to  the  blocking  of  Ger- 
many's ambitions  for  expansion  in  Morocco  and  Asia 
Minor.     Many   Englishmen,   in  positions  competent 
to  know,  have  told  writer  that  they  thought  that  Ger- 
many had  a  just  diplomatic  grievance  against  Great 
Britain  on  account  of  these  and  similar  occurrences, 
though  such  statements  must  not  be  taken  to  mean  in 
any  way  a  justification  of  the  present  war. 

69  Even  as  late  as  November,  1914,  Professor  Ostwald 

164 


ECONOMIC   ELEMENTS 

the  flame  of  war  the  slumbering  fires  of  the 
hatred  arising  from  the  economic  antagonism 
of  the  two  nations.  Wars  existed  of  course 
before  the  capitalistic  system  and  they  will 
probably  exist  after  it;  but  it  would  be  foolish 
to  deny  that  capitalism,  particularly  of  the 
"exploitative"  type,  tends  to  breed  war  be- 
tween nations  as  well  as  between  classes. 

Now,  it  is  time  that  we  give  up  the  fallacy 
of  thinking  that  peace  can  be  fostered  by  war, 
whether  between  classes  or  between  nations. 
Hatred  breeds  hatred  and  war  breeds  war. 
A  general  conflict  between  the  propertied  and 
the  propertyless  in  Western  civilization  could 
only  mean  its  death  knell.  It  would  be  far 
more  terrible  than  the  present  European  con- 
flagration. The  growth  of  class  antagonism 
and  of  class  hate  should,  therefore,  reconcile 
the  wealthy  classes  in  society  to  giving  up 
a  part  of  their  private  property  if  nothing 

is  reported  as  saying,  in  a  publication  especially  de-. 
signed  for  American  readers  (Hamburger  Fremdepblatt, 
Nov.  1,  1914)  that  "the  development  of  humanity  de- 
mands a  standard  of  Europe  under  German  leadership." 

165 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

else  can;  for  this  growing  gulf  between  the 
rich  and  the  poor  must  rend  our  civilization 
asunder  if  it  continues. 

A  third  objection  to  capitalism  is  that  it  fos- 
ters materialism  in  both  the  rich  and  the  poor 
and  thus  chokes  out  the  higher  life  of  the  spirit. 
Capitalism  fosters  materialism  in  the  rich 
because,  with  their  gains  froni  private  profit, 
every  avenue  of  luxury  and  self-indulgence 
is  open  to  them.  The  very  acceptance  of 
private  profit,  indeed,  of  the  doctrine  that 
one  is  entitled  to  all  one  can  get  within  the  law, 
means  that  the  sense  of  social  responsibility 
will  become  blunted,  if  not  obliterated.  At 
the  same  time,  the  enormous  growth  of  wealth 
in  the  capitalist  class  leads  to  the  undermining 
of  character  in  other  insidious  ways.  Men 
come  to  trust  in  riches,  they  come  to  think 
themselves  above  both  human  and  divine  law. 
This  world's  pleasures  and  enjoyments  loom 
so  large  that  they  seem  the  only  good  worth 
striving  for.  Men  become  materialists  in 

their  ideals  and  theories  of  life  as  well  as  in 

166 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

their  practices.  Religion  loses  its  meaning 
except  as  a  badge  of  respectability,  and  the 
higher  reality  of  spiritual  things  is  either  de- 
nied or  receives  simply  a  conventional  ac- 
quiescence. It  is  truly  hard  for  these  people 
to  enter  "the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

As  has  been  well  said,  "The  lust  of  personal 
wealth  and  the  prevailing  fever  leave  men 
with  no  eyes  for  what  is  worthy  or  base  in 
civilization.  Provided  they  can  make  their 
own  homes  pleasant  and  decorate  them  with 
a  certain  measure  of  taste,  they  "will  contem- 
plate in  comfort  cities  which  have  no  single 
public  building  worthy  of  the  name  and  pop- 
ulations squalid  and  ill-clothed.  It  is  not 
iron  or  engines,  it  is  the  unchecked  operation 
of  greed  that  makes  life  so  hideous;  and  until 
the  soul  of  man  is  weary  of  his  millions  we 
need  hardly  look  for  much  improvement."  w 

Capitalism  fosters  materialism  not  less 
among  the  poor  than  among  the  rich,  because 
it  makes  the  standard  of  all  worth  financial 
success.  The  doings  and  the  standards  of 

60  Figgis,  Civilization  at  the  Cross  Roads,  p.  104. 
167 


THE   SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

the  capitalist  class  are  therefore  looked  up  to 
by  the  poor  as  the  life  which  secretly,  at  least, 
they  would  like  to  copy  if  they  could.  The 
standards  of  the  labouring  man  thus  also  be- 
come almost  wholly  materialistic.  He  may 
wish  for  a  juster  distribution  of  wealth,  but 
largely  for  the  sake  of  being  "better  off" 
rather  than  for  the  sake  of  being  "better." 
The  hopeless  poverty,  moreover,  of  the  least 
fortunate  elements  of  the  labouring  class  makes 
it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  them  to  be- 
lieve in  the  worth  of  spiritual  things.  There- 
fore, the  net  result  of  capitalism  is  to  exalt 
purely  economic  and  materialistic  standards 
of  living  in  all  classes  in  society. 

Our  indictment  against  capitalism  as  it 
exists  in  its  present  form  in  society  might  be 
almost  indefinitely  continued.  We  have  men- 
tioned these  three  chief  indictments,  that  it 
leads  to  the  exploitation  of  labour,  that  it 
results  in  an  unjust  distribution  of  wealth, 
and  that  it  fosters  materialistic  standards 

of  happiness  and  living,  because  we  believe 

168 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

that  these  are  the  strongest  indictments  that 
can  be  brought.  They  are  sufficiently  strong 
to  lead  all  sensible  men  these  days  to  condemn 
capitalism  as  it  at  present  exists  in  Western 
civilization.  Thus  far  the  reader  may  agree 
with  our  diagnosis  of  the  situation.  It  is 
easier,  however,  to  diagnose  a  social  situation 
than  it  is  to  suggest  a  remedy  for  the  evils 
found.  While  the  reader  may  agree  with 
our  diagnosis,  he  may  disagree  with  the 
remedy  which  is  about  to  be  suggested.  If 
the  remedy  is  one  which  may  be  easily  criti- 
cized, that  should  surprise  no  one  who  under- 
stands at  all  the  present  condition  of  the  social 
sciences,  because  in  the  present  condition  of 
our  scientific  knowledge  regarding  human 
society  only  a  fool  or  a  partisan  (and  the  terms, 
perhaps,  are  nearly  synonymous)  would  be 
certain  that  he  knew  the  specific  remedy  for 
any  grave  social  evil.  And  yet  certain  things 
can  be  pointed  out  which  may  lead  us  to  hope 
that  the  situation  is  not  so  desperate  as  it 
seems.  It  must  not  be  expected,  of  course, 

that  the  evils  of  capitalism  which  have  grown 

169 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

up  through  four  or  five  generations  can  be 
eradicated  in  a  day,  or  that  a  new  and  higher 
phase  of  industrial  organization,  in  which 
justice  and  liberty  shall  be  realized,  can  be 
inaugurated  over  night.  The  present  gen- 
eration, above  all,  needs  to  be  patient  and 
test  each  step  that  is  taken  rather  than  to 
rush  into  some  hasty  revolutionary  change 
the  effects  of  which  cannot  well  be  foreseen. 

It  would  seem  that  the  way  out  is,  in  the 
main,  along  lines  which  are  now  already  be- 
ginning to  be  tested,  namely,  along  the  lines 
of  assuming  fuller  social  responsibility  for 
our  industrial  situation  and  fuller  social 
control  over  all  industrial  processes,  and  not 
in  the  speedy  abolition  of  private  ownership 
and  initiative  in  certain  great  lines  of  eco- 
nomic activity.  To  be  sure,  public  ownership, 
wherever  it  is  advantageous  and  at  the  same 
time  practicable,  should  be  welcome,  because 
public  ownership  is  the  fullest  expression  of 
social  control  and  social  responsibility  over 

industrial  processes.    We  want  all  the  public 

170 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

ownership  and  management,  in  other  words, 
which  we  are  really  ready  for;  but  the  ques- 
tion remains,  How  much  are  we  ready  for? 
It  is  also  a  question  whether  many  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  public  ownership  cannot  be  se- 
cured in  our  great  industries  without  destroy- 
ing private  ownership  and  private  initiative. 

For  private  ownership  and  private  initiative 
have  their  advantages  too,  as  must  be  ac- 
knowledged even  by  the  most  radical  socialists 
who  understand  anything  of  human  nature 
and  human  society.  Private  ownership  in 
some  sense,  indeed,  is  as  necessary  for  human 
society  as  the  private  home.  As  Professor 
Small  says,  "Anyone  who  has  read  the  ten 
commandments  carefully  knows  that  private 
property  is  written  in  between  their  lines." 
The  institution  of  private  property  has, 
indeed,  been  one  of  the  foundations  of  civili- 
zation itself,  and  the  tradition  of  private 
property  must  be  preserved  as  one  of  the 
corner  stones  of  social  order.81  The  objection 

81  For  an  excellent  discussion  of  the  whole  question  of 
private  property,  its  evolution  and  social  value,  see  the 

171 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

is  not  to  private  property,  but  to  the  abuses  of 
private  property  which  capitalism  has  fostered. 
Still  the  question  remains  whether  large 
business  shall  be  public  or  private;62  and  if 
we  decide  that  there  are  advantages  in  re- 
taining private  ownership  in  any  particular 
case,  then  there  is  a  question  whether  we  can- 
not secure  in  many  cases  the  advantages  of  pub- 
lic ownership  and  retain  private  ownership  too. 
It  seems  to  the  writer  that  there  is  little 
question  that  this  latter  can  be  done,  provided 
we  can  secure  proper  governmental  machinery 
and  proper  ethical  ideals  and  spirit  among 
our  people,  particularly  among  the  possessing 
classes.  We  have  need  only  to  carry  the  pro- 
gramme of  social  regulation  and  control  both 

recent  work  (1913)  on  Property,  Its  Duties  and  Rights, 
by  Professor  Hobhouse,  Professor  Bartlet,  Dr.  A.  J. 
Carlyle  and  others  (published  by  Macmillan  and  Com- 
pany). 

62  For  an  illuminating  discussion  of  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  public  and  private  property  in  modern  society, 
see  Professor  Ely's  just  published  work  on  Property 
and  Contract  in  their  Relations  to  the  Distribution  of 
Wealth,  two  volumes  (1914). 

172 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

by  government  and  public  sentiment  very 
much  farther  than  what  we  have  already  done 
in  order  to  achieve  this.  We  must,  in  other 
words,  regulate  big  business  and  little  business 
from  beginning  to  end  in  the  interest  of  the 
public.  We  must  insist  that  business  is  for 
social  service  and  not  for  private  profit.  And 
this  means  that  we  must  insist  that  business 
of  all  sorts  shall  be  so  carried  on  as  to  do  jus- 
tice, and  not  injustice,  to  the  working  man, 
as  well  as  to  the  public  at  large. 

But  the  working  man,  it  may  be  said,  lives 
upon  such  a  small  income,  with  such  a  narrow 
economic  surplus  at  best,  that  his  position  re- 
mains precarious  no  matter  how  much  busi- 
ness may  be  regulated.  But  if  business  is  to 
be  based  upon  the  idea  of  service  then  business 
must  furnish  adequate  protection  to  the  working 
man  in  his  precarious  condition.  This  means 
that  the  whole  programme  of  scientific  social 
betterment  which  our  social  workers  have 
favoured  must  be  carried  out."  We  must  first 

63  An  excellent  statement  of  this  programme  is  to  be 
found  in  Henderson's  Social  Programmes  of  the  West. 

173 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

of  all  have  strict  regulation  by  law  of  the 
hours  and  conditions  of  employment  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  highest  hygienic  and  moral 
standards.  We  must  then  have  adequate 
insurance  against  the  contingencies  of  life, 
such  as  sickness,  accident,  unemployment, 
old  age,  and  invalidity.  We  must  also  pro- 
vide an  adequate  relief  system  for  those 
whom  this  insurance  system  cannot  protect, 
such  as  the  weak,  the  defective,  and  the  in- 
efficient. We  must  have  such  measures  as 
the  minimum  wage,  or  a  living  wage  for  all 
who  work.  Free  employment  bureaus,  or 
labour  exchanges,  should  exist  in  every  city. 
Free  justice  should  be  furnished  in  our  courts 
of  law,  without  any  intermediation  of  lawyers, 
where  small  amounts  are  involved,  or  disputes 
between  the  labourer  and  his  employer.  This 
would  only  place  the  working  man  on  a  level 
of  equality  with  his  employer;  for  hitherto  the 
expenses  of  our  law  courts  have  been  such 
that  only  the  comparatively  well-to-do  could 
afford  to  appeal  to  them  for  justice.  Free  in- 
dustrial training  for  trades  of  all  sorts  should 

174 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

be  provided  in  our  public  school  system  for 
those  who  wish  to  enter  industry.  Finally,  the 
working  man  must  be  protected  in  his  right 
to  organize  for  purposes  of  mutual  aid  and 
collective  bargaining,  in  such  a  way,  however, 
that  he  shall  not  be  encouraged  to  infringe 
upon  the  rights  of  his  less  fortunate,  unor- 
ganized brother.  In  brief,  social  justice  must 
be  assured  to  the  economically  weak  in  society. 

"But  where  is  all  the  money  coming  from 
to  carry  out  this  ambitious  programme  of  the 
social  worker?'*  the  objector  may  ask.  The 
reply  is  that  in  the  wealthier  Western  nations 
there  is  ample  money  to  carry  out  such  a  hu- 
manitarian programme  toward  the  workers 
without  laying  additional  burdens  upon  any 
who  are  not  perfectly  able  to  carry  them. 
Some  of  the  money  for  such  a  programme  of 
social  and  industrial  justice  might  well  come 
through  private  philanthropy,  but  undoubt- 
edly the  larger  amount  of  such  funds  should 
be  raised  by  public  taxation  of  those  who  are 

able  to  bear  it.     We  must,  in  other  words, 

175 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

have  such  reforms  in  our  systems  of  taxation 
as  will  furnish  adequate  revenue  for  social 
needs  and  serve  at  the  same  time  to  distribute 
wealth  and  economic  opportunity  more  evenly 
in  society.  Scientific  reform  of  taxation  is 
probably  the  most  important  administrative 
method  by  which  the  injustices  and  inequalities 
of  our  present  economic  system  can  be  overcome. 
Now,  as  we  pointed  out  above,  legitimate 
incomes  under  our  present  system  of  property 
rights,  may  be  roughly  divided  into  "earn- 
ings" and  "findings";  and  as  we  have  seen, 
one's  right  to  "findings"  can  scarcely  be  con- 
sidered as  on  the  same  moral  and  social  plane 
as  one's  right  to  "earnings."  If  society  per- 
mits "findings"  to  pass  mainly  into  the 
pocketbooks  of  private  individuals  rather  than 
into  the  public  purse,  it  can  only  be  upon  the 
basis  of  temporary  social  expediency.  Now, 
it  is  just  these  "findings"  which  progressive 
tax  reformers  propose  shall  carry  the  main 
burdens  of  taxation  in  modern  states.  No 
doubt  it  will  be  one  of  the  nice  points  of  the 

statesmanship   of   the   future   to    determine 

176 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

what  are  "findings"  and  what  are  "earnings," 
what  are  "earned"  incomes  and  what  "un- 
earned" in  our  industrial  system.  Without 
entering  upon  any  attempt  to  make  a  nice 
distinction  between  the  two,  it  is  sufficient  to 
point  out  that  the  economically  fortunate 
classes  in  present  society  have  manifestly 
many  sources  of  "unearned  income."  One 
of  these  for  example  is  the  income  from  be- 
quests and  inheritances.  While  the  principle 
of  the  solidarity  of  the  family  is  so  important 
in  society  that  the  law  may  properly  exempt 
from  taxation  such  bequests  among  its  mem- 
bers as  will  reasonably  tend  to  secure  their 
economic  adjustment  and  to  prevent  destitu- 
tion, yet  above  this  minimum,  as  indeed  most 
modern  states  recognize,  there  should  be  a 
progressively  increasing  rate  of  taxation,  which 
should  be  at  least  doubled  in  the  case  of  col- 
lateral inheritances.  There  is  no  reason  why 
in  the  case  of  very  large  bequests  to  private 
individuals  the  rate  of  taxation  should  not 
be  much  heavier  than  it  is  in  any  modern 

state. 

177 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

Another  source  of  unearned  income  which 
the  economically  fortunate  enjoy  is  the  "un- 
earned increment"  in  land  values,  which 
spring  from  the  scarcity  of  land  relative  to  the 
population.  This  is  best  seen  in  our  rapidly 
growing  great  cities  where,  on  account  of  the 
scarcity  of  land,  the  speculative  profit  on 
"real  estate  deals"  which  consist  of  the  pur- 
chase and  sale  of  lots  is  frequently  enormous, 
and  in  the  high  "ground  rents"  of  such  cities. 
There  is  no  good  reason  why  all  this  "un- 
earned increment"  should  go  into  the  private 
purses  of  the  real  estate  speculator  or  the 
landlord  class,  and  some  of  the  most  progres- 
sive communities  of  the  world  are  beginning 
to  make  this  also  a  source  of  public  reve- 
nue. 

Another  source  of  unearned  income  is  the 
"speculative  profits"  which  come  in  certain 
lines  of  business  because  of  some  temporary 
or  permanent  social  advantage  which  that 
line  has.  These  cases  spring  not  only  from 
"natural  monopoly,"  the  granting  of  "fran- 
chises," and  the  like,  but  from  many  social 

178 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

conditions.  It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that 
such  "speculative  profits"  should  also  be 
taxed.  Probably  a  general  graduated  "in- 
come tax"  is  best  suited  to  make  the  finder 
of  such  "findings"  share  them  with  society, 
while  it  has  the  additional  great  social  advan- 
tage of  reaching  unearned  incomes  in  present 
society  which  come  from  interest  on  fortunes 
accumulated  through  the  unearned  increment 
in  land  values,  from  "speculative  profits,' 
or  even  from  fraudulent  practices,  passed  on, 
perhaps,  from  one  generation  to  another  by 
bequest.  Now  that  the  graduated  income 
tax  with  proper  administrative  machinery 
has  proved  its  entire  practicability  in  the  lead- 
ing countries  of  the  civilized  world,  the  chief 
question  concerning  it  can  only  be  that  of  its 
limits.  The  tax  upon  the  larger  incomes  would 
not  seem  to  be  yet  in  any  country  sufficiently 
high  to  affect  materially  the  distribution  of 
wealth.  At  any  rate,  it  is  well  said  that  this 
form  of  taxation  has  come  to  stay  if  civiliza- 
tion continues  to  progress;  and  probably  the 

only  change  which  will  be  made  in  it  in  the 

179 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

future  will  be  to  make  it  higher  for  the  higher 
incomes. 

The  proper  taxation  of  inheritances,  of  in- 
comes, and  of  monopoly  land  values  will  then 
produce  sufficient  revenue  to  meet  all  public 
needs  in  carrying  out  a  constructive  pro- 
gramme of  social  betterment.  Inasmuch  as 
these  taxes  cannot  be  shifted  when  properly 
administered,64  and  inasmuch  as  they  have 
already  been  put  into  operation  in  some  degree 
in  the  most  progressive  nations,  the  objection 
which  might  be  raised  to  them  would  seem 
to  be  largely  academic,  or  of  a  general  socio- 
logical nature.  If  it  be  said,  for  example,  that 
modern  States  are  not  to  be  trusted  with  such 
huge  funds,  that  they  would  not  be  used  for 
public  good,  but  would  become  sources  of 
political  corruption,  or  would  be  squandered 
on  immense  military  and  naval  equipments; 
then  the  heavy  burden  rests  upon  their  op- 

64  The  scientific  principles  of  taxation  may  be  con- 
sulted by  the  reader  in  the  works  of  leading  economists, 
especially  in  the  works  of  Professor  E.  R.  A.  Seligman. 

180 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

ponent  of  showing  that  they  would  be  so  mis- 
used. On  the  contrary,  the  very  existence  of 
a  social  programme  calling  for  vast  expendi- 
tures for  public  welfare  would  seem  to  be  the 
surest  guarantee  that  public  funds  would  not 
be  squandered  on  armaments,  or  dissipated 
through  political  corruption. 

The  stock  argument,  however,  against  mod- 
ern states  entering  upon  a  progressive  pro- 
gramme of  social  and  industrial  betterment, 
and  of  levying  upon  some  of  the  economic 
surplus  of  the  economically  fortunate  to 
finance  the  same,  is  that  it  would  "hurt  busi- 
ness." It  will  discourage  investment  if  all 
the  "findings"  in  modern  business  above 
"earnings"  have  to  be  shared  with  the  public. 
The  wealthy  classes  will  sulk;  they  prefer  no 
return  on  their  money  rather  than  the  chance 
of  mere  legitimate  interest.  In  brief,  "cap- 
ital" will  go  on  a  "strike. " 

Now,  there  has  been  abundant  evidence  in 
the  history  of  modern  business  that  just  this 
thing  might  happen.  Indeed,  so  long  as  the 

ethical  basis  of  business  remains  arrant  egoism 

181 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

or  mere  self-interest,  it  is  the  thing  which 
probably  will  happen.  But  if  business  is  put 
upon  the  basis  of  social  service,  it  is  highly 
improbable  that  "capital  will  go  on  a  strike" 
because  its  chances  of  profits  have  to  be  low- 
ered to  meet  social  needs.  The  example  of 
"business  as  usual"  without  material  en- 
hancement of  prices  though  profits  may  be 
enormously  curtailed,  in  a  country  aflame 
with  patriotic  feeling  during  a  war,  shows 
this.  Here  comes  in  again,  in  other  words, 
the  disturbing  spiritual  factor  in  the  form  of 
an  ethical  standard  which  may  rule  an  entire 
class  or  an  entire  people.  As  long  as  political 
economy  could  base  itself  upon  a  purely 
egoistic  theory  of  human  nature — upon  pure 
self-interest — it  was  possible  to  ignore  largely 
the  influence  of  the  ethical  standards  of  classes 
upon  business.  But  now  that  modern  psy- 
chology has  shown  such  a  theory  of  human 
nature  to  be  false,  and  that  altruism  is  as 
natural  to  man  as  egoism,  the  possibility  of 
controlling  even  business  by  altruistic  ideals, 

in  some  degree  at  least,  must  be  admitted  as 

182 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

entirely  within  the  field  of  a  practicable  social 
programme. 

Hence,  the  reply  to  those  who  say  that  a 
programme  of  full  social  justice  to  the  workers 
would  "hurt  business"  is  that  if  business  were 
conducted  upon  the  proper  ethical  basis — 
upon  the  basis  of  the  service  of  society — it 
would  hurt  no  legitimate  business.  This 
means  practically,  however,  that  the  wealthy 
classes  must  content  themselves  with  a  smaller 
income  return  on  the  capital  which  society 
permits  them  to  hold  and  manage  in  trust,  as 
it  were,  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  They 
must,  in  other  words,  be  willing  to  give  up  a 
considerable  part  of  their  unearned  income 
to  the  State  and  to  private  philanthropy; 
and  if  the  rest  is  to  be  used  for  the  develop- 
ment of  legitimate  business,  they  must  also 
give  up  their  luxury  and  self-indulgence. 

If  it  be  said  that  this  is  expecting  too  much 
of  the  economically  fortunate  classes,  the 
reply  is  that  such  sacrifice  for  the  common 
good  is  only  in  accordance  with  the  ethical 

principles   which   many   of  them  have  long 

183 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

professed — the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  stew- 
ardship of  wealth.  It  is  also  in  accord  with 
the  doctrine  of  social  obligation  which  scien- 
tific social  ethics  reveals  as  springing  from 
the  facts  of  social  science.  "We  must  recog- 
nize," says  Mr.  Seebohm  Rowntree,  a  wealthy 
British  manufacturer,  "that  if  justice  is  to  be 
done  to  the  workers,  it  will  mean  sacrifice  on 
the  part  of  the  rich.  The  poverty  at  one  end 
of  the  social  scale  will  not  be  removed  except  by 
encroaching  heavily  upon  the  great  riches  at  the 
other  end."  65  Fortunately  many  of  the  best 
American  men  of  wealth  have  expressed  them- 
selves in  similar  terms. 

Another  objection  sometimes  raised  to  a 
programme  of  industrial  justice  supported  by 
taxation  is  that  it  would  dry  up  the  springs 
of  private  benevolence  and  of  spontaneous 
brotherly  help  between  man  and  man.  It 
would  reduce  everything  to  the  dead  level  of 
law  and  of  governmental  coercion.  But  this 
would  surely  not  necessarily  be  so.  In  a 

85  Quoted  by  Henderson,  Social  Programmes  of  the 
West,  p.  129. 

184 


ECONOMIC    ELEMENTS 

democratic  society,  ruled  sufficiently  by  hu- 
manitarian ideals  to  enter  upon  and  support  a 
programme  of  social  justice,  there  would  be  no 
lack  of  spontaneous  expressions  of  sympathy 
and  brotherhood  beween  man  and  man.  In  any 
case  the  aim  of  a  rational  private  philanthropy 
can  only  be  to  render  itself  less  and  less  neces- 
sary. It  is  desirable  that  brotherhood  in  society 
should  exhibit  itself  in  justice  even  more  than 
in  charity,  as  the  latter  is  commonly  conceived. 

Finally,  it  may  be  said  that  an  economic 
programme  like  the  above  is  "socialism," 
although  party  socialists  will  undoubtedly 
regard  it  as  an  academic  fancy  dictated  by 
overfriendliness  to  the  present  capitalistic 
order.  The  time  should  be  past,  however,  for 
condemning  things  by  mere  names.  If  by 
"socialism"  is  meant  collective  control  over 
all  the  conditions  of  social  life,  then  that  is 
what  all  human  history  has  been  aiming  at. 
All  sane  students  of  social  life  are  "socialists" 
in  that  sense.  If,  however,  by  "socialism" 

is  meant  the  public  ownership  and  manage- 

185 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

ment  of  all  capital,  or  at  least  of  a  majority 
of  the  business  of  a  country,  then  the  above 
programme  is  not  "socialism,"  though  so  far 
as  the  writer  can  see  there  is  no  moral  objec- 
tion to  such  "socialism"  if  it  is  practicable. 
The  historical  socialist  movement,  however, 
has  neither  endorsed  the  philosophical  social- 
ism which  we  first  defined,  nor  been  content 
to  make  its  programme  simply  the  public 
ownership  and  management  of  business  in 
order  that  a  higher  social  life  may  be  realized. 
On  the  contrary,  it  has  had  attached  to  it  in 
most  countries  a  whole  philosophy  of  the 
social  life,  filled  with  the  dangerous  negations 
which  we  have  been  refuting,  such  as  "eco- 
nomic determinism,"  the  class-conflict  theory 
of  society,  and  the  cataclysmic  or  "revolu- 
tion" theory,  of  social  progress.  Thus  the 
socialist  movement  has  transformed  itself 
from  a  constructive  movement  to  a  negative 
one.  This  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
tragedies  of  human  history,  because  all  this 
negative  social  philosophy  is  no  essential 

part  of  a  true  socialism.    Whether  a  purified 

186 


ECONOMIC   ELEMENTS 

socialism  will  arise  in  Western  nations  which 
will  have  a  constructive  programme,  and  not 
be  negative  in  its  attitude  toward  the  higher 
social  values,  remains  to  be  seen.66  Such  a 
socialism  will  necessarily  be  "experimental" 
in  character,  and  would  have  no  more  objec- 
tion to  a  programme  of  industrial  better- 
ment than  any  other  progressive  political 
party.  On  the  other  hand,  such  a  programme 
is  a  necessary  alternative  to  revolutionary 
socialism;  for  Western  civilization  will  not 
return  to  laissez-faire  individualism  in  its 
economic  life. 

The  programme  of  industrial  justice  which 
we  have  outlined  is,  then,  no  mere  academic 
fancy — the  product  of  abstract  theorizing. 
It  is  the  actual  programme  upon  which  the 
most  advanced  Western  nations  are  entering 

66  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  moderate 
English  socialism,  especially  the  Fabian  movement, 
has  already  realized  this  transformation  from  a  negative 
to  a  constructive  movement,  which  is  non-revolutionary 
and  thoroughly  "experimental"  in  character.  Outside 
of  England,  however,  it  has  not  spread  widely. 

187 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

under  the  guidance  of  the  soundest  social 
thinkers  and  workers.  It  has  grown  out  of 
the  perception  that  the  industrial  poverty 
which  so  menaces  our  civilization,  can  be  abol- 
ished like  nearly  all  social  evils,  without  revo- 
lution, and  that  it  should  be  abolished.  But 
those  who  understand  the  social  problem  of 
the  present  in  its  deeper  aspects  know  that 
this  is  but  a  preliminary  step,  though  a  most  es- 
sential one,  in  organized,  scientifically  planned 
social  progress.  They  know  that  beyond 
lies  the  problem  of  socializing  the  individual 
and  of  conserving  and  building  up  the  spiritual 
life  of  humanity. 


188 


CHAPTER  V 


SPIRITUAL   AND    IDEAL    ELEMENTS   IN    THE 
SOCIAL  PROBLEM 


^ITTHAT  the  world  needs  is  a  new  soul,  that 
is,  a  new  set  of  values,  even  more  than 
a  new  economic  system.  Indeed,  it  needs  a 
new  economic  system  chiefly  in  order  that 
it  may  get  a  new  soul;  but  the  two  must 
develop  together.  Without  a  new  soul,  a 
new  economic  system  would  but  serve  as 
another  opportunity  for  the  strong  to  exploit 
the  weak.  On  the  other  hand,  without  a  new 
system  of  industry  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  get  new  and  higher  ideals  of  life  among  the 
masses  of  the  people.  As  long  as  injustice 
reigns  in  the  material'  conditions  of  life,  we 
must  not  expect  people  to  believe  strongly 
in  the  ideals  of  brotherhood.  On  the  other 
hand,  without  an  ideal  of  brotherhood  to 
guide  their  activity,  no  group  of  human 

beings  can  realize  a  brotherly  society.     But 

189 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

there  is  no  circle  here.  Ideas  and  ideals  exist 
to  guide  and  control  activity;  therefore  we 
must  begin  our  making  of  the  society  of  'to- 
morrow with  a  practical  idea  of  what  that 
society  shall  be;  and  we  must  have  faith  in 
the  power  to  realize  our  ideas  and  ideals. 

Nothing  is  more  lamentable  than  for  men 
to  lose  their  faith  in  this  power  of  ideas  and 
ideals;  for,  however  much  we  may  admit  the 
influence  of  other  factors,  it  remains  true  be- 
yond the  gainsaying  of  all,  except  of  absolute 
sceptics,  that  the  intellect  has  been  the  active 
factor  in  human  progress  in  the  past.  While  we 
are  far  from  endorsing  any  ideological  theory  of 
history,  yet  ideas  and  ideals  have  ever  been, 
since  civilization  began,  the  chief  instruments 
by  which  man  has  controlled  his  adjustments 
to  his  fellow  man.  Such  ideas  as  the  father- 
hood of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and 
the  right  of  the  individual  to  liberty,  have  had 
the  utmost  influence  in  shaping  human  his- 
tory in  the  past.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that 
such  ideas  have  been  derived  from  the  physi- 
cal and  economic  environment;  for  they  have 

190 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

sprung  quite  as  much  from  the  instincts  and 
native  tendencies  of  human  nature  as  from 
the  influence  of  any  factors  in  the  environ- 
ment. When  men  ascribe  the  origin  of  ideas 
to  various  influences  in  the  environment,  they 
forget  the  part  played  by  human  instincts, 
by  the  creative  imagination,  and  by  construc- 
tive reasoning.  They  forget,  in  other  words, 
that  the  mind  of  man  is  self-active  and  needs 
no  compulsion  from  without.  They  have  com- 
mitted the  fallacy  of  accepting  as  a  theory  of 
human  nature  a  passive  psychology  which  is 
utterly  discredited  by  science  to-day.  Thus 
economic  determinism,  or  any  other  material- 
istic theory  of  human  progress,  is  without 
scientific  foundation. 

But  even  more  must  the  society  of  to-morrow 
be  made  by  spiritual  and  ideal  elements  than 
the  society  of  yesterday,  because  in  the  more 
complex  stages  of  social  evolution  the  spiritual 
factors  have  an  ever  greater  part  to  play. 
Science  and  education  must  become  the  chief 

means  of  controlling   and   reorganizing   the 

191 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

society  of  the  future.  A  clear  understanding 
of  our  social  life  will  alone  make  possible  its 
highest  development.  However,  it  is  only 
when  the  discoveries  of  science  and  the  con- 
clusions of  reflective  thought  are  formulated 
into  standards,  that  is,  transmuted  into 
values,  that  their  social  efficacy  will  become 
apparent.  In  other  words,  we  can  have  a  right 
social  life  only  upon  a  basis  of  right  ideals  as 
to  the  relations  of  men  to  one  another.  Ideals 
are  judgments  as  to  the  value  of  activities  and 
they  are  indispensable  instruments  in  bring- 
ing about  any  high  type  of  adaptation  between 
individuals.  We  must  have,  therefore,  the 
right  sort  of  ideals  as  a  basis  before  we  can 
realize  any  high  type  of  social  life. 

Not  only  must  we  have  right  ideals  in 
human  society,  but  the  mass  of  men,  one  way 
or  another,  must  be  brought  to  agree  upon 
right  ideals.  If  there  is  hopeless  disagreement 
in  opinions  and  ideals  among  individuals,  it 
is  idle  to  suppose  that  their  social  life  can  be 
characterized  by  harmony  and  unity.  Now, 

as  we  have  already  seen,  the  present  age  is 

192 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

characterized  by  an  apparently  almost  hope- 
less disagreement  as  to  the  values  and  ideals 
of  life.  Conflicting  traditions  and  judgments 
among  us  have  divided  modern  civilization 
into  warring  sects,  parties,  factions,  classes, 
and  nations.  Science,  to  be  sure,  is  at  work 
trying  to  bring  men  to  more  unanimity  in  their 
opinions  regarding  the  meaning  and  ideals 
of  life.  But  a  preliminary  work  of  social 
science  must  be  to  point  out  in  the  beginning 
the  importance  of  ideas  and  ideals  in  society 
and  of  agreement  respecting  them,  if  we  are 
to  reach  any  solution  of  the  social  problem 
at  all.  In  other  words,  people  must  come  to 
realize,  even  before  science  can  act  as  their 
guide,  the  importance  of  ideas  and  ideals  in 
practical  life,  and  especially  the  importance 
of  conserving  those  which  the  experience  of 
the  past  has  shown  to  be  truly  constructive 
and  productive  of  harmony  and  unity  in 
society. 

Unfortunately,  however,  owing  to  the  strife 

between  conflicting  traditions  and  interests 

193 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

in  present  society,  large  masses  of  men  have 
come  to  take  a  partially  or  wholly  negative 
attitude  toward  the  very  values  which  have 
guided  the  social  development  of  the  past  and 
which  have  proved  the  most  civilizing  agen- 
cies. It  is  not  simply  that  whole  masses  of 
men  have  gone  over  to  the  happiness  or  "self- 
culture"  ideals  of  life,  but  we  have  also  people 
in  plenty  who  advocate,  for  themselves  at 
least,  a  return  to  a  primitive  animal-like  stage 
of  life — people  who  believe  that  the  gratifica- 
tion of  native  impulses  and  appetites  con-j 
stitutes  the  supreme  good  of  life.  We  have) 
others  in  plenty,  who,  though  they  may  not 
go  so  far,  yet  disbelieve  in  organized  govern- 
ment, morality,  or  religion.  •  Finally,  we  have 
the  worshippers  of  power  and  success,  who, 
though  difficult  to  enumerate,  constitute  no 
small  fraction  in  the  most  typical  communities 
of  Western  civilization. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  think  that  such  nega- 
tive philosophers  as  Rousseau,  Bakunin,  and 
Nietzsche  are  simply  aberrant,  exceptional 

social  types.    On  the  contrary,  they  represent 

194 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

profound  tendencies  in  the  social  life  of  the 
present.  These  apostles  of  social  negativism 
have,  in  other  words,  but  expressed  in  their 
doctrines  the  socially  negative  attitude  of 
large  classes  in  Western  civilization.  This 
social  negativism,  moreover,  runs  through  the 
thought  of  many  of  the  thinkers  whose  names 
have  become  linked  with  great  modern  move- 
ments, such  as  Spencer  and  Marx.  Indeed, 
our  whole  social  life  has  become  tinctured 
with  the  philosophy  of  individualism  on  the 
one  hand,  which  asserts  that  there  is  no  more 
unity  inherent  in  our  social  life  than  there  is 
in  a  dog  fight;  and  on  the  other  hand,  with 
the  philosophy  of  materialism  or  agnosticism, 
which  fails  to  see  any  more  meaning  in  our 
social  life  than  in  the  growth  and  development 
of  a  colony  of  bacteria.  In  ethics  and  religion, 
in  those  most  intimate  inner  matters  which 
concern  our  social  life,  we  have  been  busy 
sowing  the  wind,  and  it  should  not  be  surpris- 
ing that  we  are  now  beginning  to  reap  the 
whirlwind. 

But,  if  we  acknowledge  the  importance  of 
195 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

ideas  and  ideals,  of  the  spiritual  element  in 
life,  then  what  policy  must  we  pursue  to  con- 
serve our  spiritual  possessions  and  to  transmit 
them  unimpaired  to  the  society  of  the  future? 
Without  going  into  details  it  is  evident  that 
modern  civilization  has  suffered  its  spiritual 
possessions  in  a  number  of  lines  to  decay,  and 
that  we  must  now  enter  upon  a  policy  of 
conservation  of  these  spiritual  values,  if  there 
is  to  be  any  chance  of  realizing  a  humanity 
adjusted  to  the  requirements  of  a  higher  social 
existence.  At  least  along  four  lines  Western 
peoples  have  been  failing  to  conserve  their 
higher  ideals,  namely,  along  the  lines  of  the 
family,  of  government,  of  religion,  and  of 
morality. 

If  our  civilization  is  to  extricate  itself  from 
its  present  anarchy,  we  must  have  a  revalua- 
tion of  family  life.  The  place  of  the  family  in 
human  society,  as  a  natural  intermediary 
between  individualism  and  a  wider  life  of  social 
service,  must  be  evident  to  all  who  have  re- 
flected upon  the  matter  impartially.  Not  only 

196 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

does  the  child  receive  in  the  family  in  the 
simplest,  most  direct  and  most  effective  way, 
those  traditions  regarding  industry,  govern- 
ment, law,  morality,  and  religion,  which  are 
the  spiritual  possessions  of  the  race,  but  he 
also  learns  in  it  his  first  lessons  in  love,  service, 
and  self-sacrifice.  Loyalty  and  unselfish  de- 
votion to  the  larger  human  groups,  psychology 
shows,  cannot  be  effectively  developed  with- 
out first  developing  loyalty  to  those  smaller 
groups  which  call  forth  the  instinctive  affec- 
tions of  the  child.67  The  attachments  de- 
veloped in  the  family  make  possible  and  ac- 
tually strengthen  the  attachments  to  larger 
groups.  Hence  where  family  sentiments  are 
strong,  there  one  usually  finds  strong  pa- 
triotism and  strong  social  sympathies  in 
general. 

In  other  words,  the  individual  learns  in 
the  family  the  meaning  and  the  reality  of 
social  solidarity,  and  he  gets  necessarily  from 
the  family  life  many  of  his  ideals  for  the  social 

67  See  Royce,  The  Philosophy  of  Loyalty,  especially, 
pp.  220-8. 

197 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

life  generally.  Thus  the  family  has  furnished 
in  the  past  the  chief  means  of  bridging  the 
gap  between  selfish  human  nature  and  the 
obligations  imposed  by  social  responsibility. 
That  the  service  learned  by  the  individual  in 
the  family  group  has  so  often  stopped  with 
the  family  group  is  no  condemnation  of  the 
institution  of  the  family.  It  is  rather  merely 
an  indication  that  this  group,  like  even  the 
nation  itself,  may  become  a  stumbling  block 
to  the  wider  service  of  humanity,  if  it  is  not 
brought  within  the  sweep  of  humanitarian 
ideals.  But  surely  the  ethics  of  service  will 
not  work  in  society  at  large  unless  we  can  get 
it  to  work  first  in  the  intimate  group  of  the 
family  where  altruism  is  so  strongly  backed 
by  natural  affection.  Because  the  family  is 
the  institution  which  has  cradled  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  past,  we  must  not  forget  its  central 
place  in  the  civilization  of  the  future.  The 
ideal  of  a  stable,  wholesome,  and  sane  family 
life  must  be  held  up  before  each  generation  if 
we  are  to  conserve  our  most  precious  social 

possessions;   and   the   social   order   must   be 

198 


IDEAL   ELEMENTS 

such  as  to  make  possible  for  each  normal  in- 
dividual such  a  family  life. 

Because  the  family  has  often  failed  to  per- 
form its  high  functions  in  the  social  life,  is 
no  reason  for  a  negative  attitude  toward  this 
institution.  If  we  should  condemn  the  family 
as  an  institution  for  such  a  reason,  we  should 
have  to  condemn  on  the  same  ground  all 
human  institutions.  Rather  our  attitude 
should  be,  if  we  are  scientific,  the  constructive 
one  of  searching  out  and  correcting  the  faults 
in  individual  character  and  in  social  organiza- 
tion which  have  made  possible  the  failure  of 
the  family  in  individual  instances.  It  is  plain 
that  higher  ideals  must  dominate  our  family 
life,  as  we  showed  when  discussing  eugenics,  if 
it  is  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  civilization  of 
the  future.  Not  only  must  the  ideal  of  the 
service  of  humanity  dominate  marriage  and 
the  family,  but  society  in  general  must  value 
the  service  of  humanity  through  marriage 
and  the  family.  We  must  conserve  the  human 
values  in  these  institutions.  We  must  es- 
pecially recognize  true  motherhood  and  true 

199 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

fatherhood  as  among  the  highest  forms  of 
social  service;  and  to  this  end  we  must  educate 
every  normal  individual  for  the  duties  of 
marriage  and  parenthood.  Then  through  the 
family,  as  the  cradle  of  individual  character, 
we  may  rationally  hope  to  regenerate  the 
social  life  in  general. 

Again,  we  must  have  a  revaluation  of  gov- 
ernment and  law,  if  we  are  to  solve  the  social 
problem.  We  have  already,  to  be  sure,  a 
childish,  almost  an  absurd,  faith  in  the  power 
of  governmental  machinery,  and  in  the  power 
of  the  ballot  to  work  all  sorts  of  social  wonders. 
We  need  on  the  one  hand,  to  see  the  limitations 
of  what  government  and  law  can  do  in  society; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  we  need  renewed  faith 
in  government  and  law  as  regulative  and  in- 
tegrating organs  of  society.  The  New  World 
especially  has  lost  in  part  its  tradition  of  the 
place  and  function  of  government.  The  re- 
proach of  lawlessness  has  especially  rested  on 
the  American  people  and  with  just  reason. 

But  this  to  some  extent  is  due  to  the  fact  that 

200 


FOP 
BIOLOGICAL  Kt.,hARG*t 

IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

we  have  lost  the  ideals  of  government  which 
our  forefathers  once  possessed.  They  believed 
in  a  politics  of  patriotism,  while  we  have  had 
too  long  dominant  among  us  a  politics  of 
self-interest.  Not  only  have  whole  parties 
been  devoted  to  class-interests,  but  politicians 
and  even  ordinary  voters  have  often  shame- 
lessly confessed  to  being  dominated  by  no 
higher  motive  than  their  own  pocketbook.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  under  such  circumstances, 
with  our  politics  and  government  simply  an 
expression  of  contending  selfish  interests,  we 
have  lost  our  faith  in  our  legislators,  execu- 
tives, and  judiciary.  The  respect  for  law  it- 
self is  lost  under  such  conditions,  because  we 
no  longer  believe  in  the  patriotism  of  either 
our  legislators  or  our  judges.  It  is  evident 
that  democracy  will  not  work  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, where  it  is  nothing  but  a  mere  con- 
tention between  individual  and  class  egoisms. 
We  must  have  a  renaissance  of  the  politics 
of  patriotism,  if  democratic  law  and  govern- 
ment are  to  endure,  because  no  one  can  respect 

law  or  government  which  he  thinks  is  simply 

201 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

the  triumph  of  the  selfishness  of  one  class 
over  the  selfishness  of  another.  A  politics 
which  is  founded  upon  genuine  love  of  coun- 
try will,  moreover,  in  the  last  analysis  not  be 
found  to  be  antagonistic  to  a  true  humani- 
tarianism.  The  service  of  a  national  group  is, 
no  more  than  the  service  of  a  family  group, 
opposed  to  the  service  of  humanity  at  large. 
While  we  must  insist  that,  "Above  all  na- 
tions is  humanity,"  yet  humanity  must  realize 
itself  in  the  smaller  concrete  groups  from  the 
family  and  the  neighbourhood  to  the  nation, 
which,  through  the  development  of  their  own 
solidarity,  make  possible  that  wider  solidarity 
of  humanity  as  a  whole.  Here  again  we  must 
remember  the  important  socio-psychologic 
principle  that  development  of  loyalty  to  one 
group,  when  we  have  an  hierarchy  of  groups, 
does  not  weaken,  but  may  rather  strengthen 
the  loyalty  to  the  great  group  which  includes 
all  as  parts. 

The  negative  attitude  toward  government 
which  grew  up  in  Western  civilization  during 

the  nineteenth  century,  ranging  from  laissez- 

202 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

faire  individualism  to  a  doctrine  of  absolute 
anarchism,  is  not  justified  when  we  consider 
the  growing  complexity  of  social  life  and  its 
increasing  need  of  regulation.  On  the  con- 
trary, government  will  be  more  and  more 
needed  as  civilization  advances.  It  must 
cover  in  time  practically  all  human  interests, 
in  such  a  way,  however,  as  not  to  destroy 
individual  initiative  or  to  block  normal  social 
change.  Nor  must  it  be  developed  in  individ- 
ual nations  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  the 
federation  of  all  governments  to  secure  world- 
peace  and  world-order.  Government  within 
the  nation  must  be  made  to  serve  the  larger 
life  of  humanity.  Yet  this  is  practicable  only 
when  we  have  in  the  leading  Western  nations 
a  free,  enlightened  democracy,  in  which  the 
individual  voter  is  effectively  controlled  by 
the  ideal  of  the  service  of  man,  rather  than  by 
mere  selfish,  class,  or  national  interests. 

Again,   we   must    have   a   revaluation    of 
religion  if  the  social  problem  is  to  be  solved. 

Religion  especially   stands  for  the  spiritual 

203 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

life  in  man.  It  is  essentially  a  projection  and  a 
universalization  of  social  values.68  While, 
like  government  and  other  agencies  of  social 
control,  it  may  make  the  mistake  of  sanc- 
tioning the  wrong  values,  yet  because  the 
individual  needs,  especially  in  the  more  com- 
plex stages  of  social  development,  to  have 
the  social  values  impressed  upon  his  conscious- 
ness in  the  intensest  way,  they  need  to  come 
to  him  essentially  in  a  religious  form.  Only 
thus  can  they  receive  that  character  of  uni- 
versal and  absolute  validity  which  is  necessary 
for  their  effective  control  of  social  action. 
Thus  religion  has  in  all  ages  proved  the  most 
powerful  force  working  for  social  order.  It 
is,  as  Professor  Ward  says,  "the  power  of 
social  gravitation  which  holds  the  social  world 
in  its  orbit."69  Because  it  is  the  vehicle  of 

68  See  the  writer's  article  on  "The  Social  Function  of 
Religion"  in  the  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  Novem- 
ber,  1913;  also,  Ames,    The  Psychology  of  Religious 
Experience. 

69  See  his  article  on  "  The  Essential  Nature  of  Reli- 
gion" in  the  International  Journal  of  Ethics,  Vol.  VIII, 
pp.  169-92. 

204 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

social  ideals,  it  is  equally  capable,  if  the  ideals 
which  it  sanctions  are  high  enough,  of  be- 
coming the  most  powerful  engine  of  social 
progress.  In  short,  religion  is  peculiarly 
connected  with  the  higher  life  of  civilization, 
so  much  so,  that  the  death  of  religion  would 
probably  mean  the  destruction  of  all  higher 
social  values,  and  therefore  ultimately  of  the 
higher  forms  of  civilization. 

Now,  the  modern  world  is  rapidly  becoming 
extremely  indifferent,  if  not  agnostic,  as  to 
the  claims  of  religion.  It  is  listening  with  a 
more  attentive  ear  than  ever  to  those  leaders 
in  thought  who  claim  that  society  can  get 
along  very  well  without  religion.  Religion, 
in  other  words,  is  very  far  from  receiving  the 
place  which  it  should  receive  in  our  civiliza- 
tion. It  is  shoved  off  into  one  corner  and 
made,  like  philosophy,  a  badge  of  respect- 
ability, or  else  it  is  regarded  as  superstition 
altogether. 

But  if  our  analysis  of  the  social  situation 
is  correct,  religion  is  needed  to  stimulate 

altruism  in  the  mass  of  men.    A  social  religion, 

205 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

in  other  words,  is  the  one  thing  which  can  do 
most  to  save  human  nature  from  selfishness 
and  brutality,  and  so  to  solve  the  social 
problem.  By  a  social  religion,  we  mean,  of 
course,  one  which  will  exalt  the  service  of 
humanity  over  and  above  the  service  of  any 
individual,  class,  nation,  or  even  race,  as  the 
highest  end  and  value.  Only  such  a  religion 
can  adequately  support  a  humanitarian  ethics, 
and  only  such,  therefore,  can  overcome  the 
antagonism  of  interest  which  may  easily 
exist  between  races,  nations,  and  classes.  If 
that  war  between  individuals,  classes,  nations, 
and  races,  which  constitutes  the  heart  of  the 
social  problem,  is  to  be  done  away  with,  it 
must  be  by  a  religion  of  love  and  serv- 
ice. 

Finally,  we  must  have  a  revaluation  of 
morality  and  of  moral  ideals  themselves,  if 
we  are  going  to  solve  the  social  problem. 
Indeed,  the  family,  government,  and  religion 
are  all  valuable  only  as  they  support  moral 
practices  or  moral  ideals.  Yet  the  modern 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

world  has  become  strangely  indifferent  as 
regards  matters  of  conduct.  As  Professor 
Giddings  says,  "We  have  been  extremely 
anxious  to  bridge  the  gulf  between  the  igno- 
rant and  the  educated,  and  we  are  beginning 
to  wake  up  to  the  importance  of  bridging  the 
gulf  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  but  we 
still  are  scarcely  concerned  with  bridging  the 
gulf  between  the  vicious  and  the  good."  Yet 
it  is  just  this  gulf  which  must  be  bridged  if 
the  social  problem  is  to  be  solved. 

The  virtues  are  what  bind  men  together  in 
harmonious  relations;  and  it  is  idle  to  think 
that  there  can  be  a  satisfactory  social  life 
without  the  common  virtues  of  honesty, 
veracity,  loyalty,  and  justice,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  more  transcendent  qualities  of  the  love 
and  service  of  humanity  as  a  whole.  We  must, 
therefore,  wake  up  to  the  importance  of  moral 
practices  and  moral  ideas  in  every  sphere 
of  our  social  life.  We  must  conserve  our 
moral  ideals  as  our  most  precious  spiritual 
possessions  and  make  moral  training  the 

centre  of  our  educational  system.     For  the 

207 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

ultimate  problem  in  human  society  is  to 
bridge  this  gulf  between  the  vicious  and  the 
just,  as  Professor  Giddings  has  said.  Vicious- 
ness  and  immorality  are  the  anterooms  to 
crime,  and  crime  is  the  dissolution  of  the  social 
order  itself.  We  know,  of  course,  that  crime 
may  come  from  defective  minds,  or  that  it 
may  be  bred  by  economic  injustice;  but  far 
more  serious  to  society  than  these  two  former 
sorts  of  crime,  serious  as  they  are,  is  the  crime 
which  is  bred  by  the  lowering  of  the  ideals 
of  our  social  life.  This  is  the  crime  which 
may  spread  some  day  like  wildfire  throughout 
Western  civilization  and  mark  its  final  dis- 
solution in  moral  anarchy.  Civilization  must 
depend  in  the  last  analysis  upon  the  individual 
characters  of  the  men  and  women  who  make 
it  up. 

How,  then,  is  the  gulf  between  the  vicious 
and  the  good  to  be  bridged  in  society?  The 
reply  is  that  men  are  saved,  society  is  saved, 
by  effective  beliefs,  provided  of  course  that 
these  beliefs  are  broad  enough  to  deal  properly 

with  all  factors  in  the  situation.    The  question 

208 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

of  questions  for  social  ethics,  therefore,  is  what 
system  of  moral  ideals  is  best  suited  to  pro- 
mote the  increasing  harmony  and  progressive 
development  of  humanity.  Now  the  ethics 
of  individualism,  which  makes  the  criterion 
by  which  we  shall  test  our  moral  ideals  either 
the  happiness  or  the  self-development  of  in- 
dividuals, has  failed  in  Western  civilization 
to  produce  either  increasing  social  harmony 
or  the  progressive  development  of  all  human- 
ity. Hedonistic  and  "self-culture*'  ethics, 
in  other  words,  have  failed  to  "bridge  the 
gulf  between  the  vicious  and  the  good,"  and 
have  even  tended  strongly  to  produce  in 
practice  in  modern  civilization  egoistic  and 
anti-social  conduct.  They  are  both  failures 
from  a  social  point  of  view.  This  has  usually 
been  seen  by  careful  ethical  thinkers,  so  far 
as  "hedonistic  ethics"  is  concerned.  It  has 
not  so  generally  been  seen  as  regards  the 
"ethics  of  self-development, "  which  in  the 
nineteenth  century  was  almost  universally 
regarded  as  favourable  to  human  progress. 

To  a  certain  extent  it  undoubtedly  is  so;  but, 

MM 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

at  least  as  popularly  interpreted,  it  also  has 
tended  to  anti-social  conduct. 

The  ethics  of  individualism  has,  we  repeat, 
broken  down  in  Western  civilization.  In- 
stead of  helping  to  solve  the  social  problem, 
it  has  tended  to  intensify  it.  What  system 
of  morality,  then,  will  meet  the  needs  of  our 
complex  civilization?  It  would  seem  that 
only  a  system  which  would  put  first  the  devel- 
opment of  humanity  as  a  whole,  rather  than 
the  development,  or  happiness,  of  the  in- 
dividual, would  be  adequate  for  the  solution 
of  the  social  problem.  In  other  words,  the 
moral  ideal  must  be  pictured,  not  as  a  perfect 
man,  but  as  a  perfect  society  consisting  of  all 
humanity.70  Practically  this  means  for  the 

70  The  writer's  paper  referred  to  at  the  beginning  of 
Chapter  I  concluded  with  these  words:  "If  Western 
civilization  is  not  to  go  down  through  a  series  of  hope- 
less conflicts  between  nations  and  classes,  it  must  have  a 
re-birth  of  humanitarian  ethics,  that  is,  an  ethics  which 
shall  teach  the  individual  to  find  his  self-development 
and  his  happiness  in  the  service  of  others,  and  which 
shall  forbid  any  individual,  class,  nation,  or  even  race 
from  regarding  itself  as  an  end  in  itself  apart  from  the 

210 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

individual  that  his  moral  ideal  shall  be  that 
his  life  is  for  the  service  of  humanity;  that  his 
self-development  and  even  his  happiness  are 
but  means  to  that  service.  The  ideal  of  the 
service  of  humanity,  however,  demands  the 
fullest  development  of  the  powers  of  the  in- 
dividual for  that  service  and  even  his  happi- 
ness in  such  service.  Thus  the  humanitarian 
ideal  is  synthetic  of  all  that  is  worth  while  in 
the  hedonistic  and  self-culture  ideals.  But 
in  the  practical  moral  life  of  men  it  makes  all 
the  difference  in  the  world  which  is  empha- 
sized— self  or  humanity. 

Moreover,  a  system  of  morality  based  on  the 
ideal  of  the  service  of  humanity  has  the  im- 
mense advantage  of  having  the  best  religious 
traditions  in  Western  civilization  behind  it; 
for  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  by  any  sane 

rest  of  humanity.  The  general  acceptance  of  such  an 
ethics  would  have  prevented  the  present  war;  and  what- 
ever the  issue  of  the  present  struggle,  only  the  frank 
acceptance  of  such  humanitarianism  by  the  leaders  of 
future  civilization  can  save  the  world  from  a  series 
of  endless  conflicts  between  classes,  nations  and 
races." 

211 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

mind  that  such  an  ethics  is  implicit  in  the 
ethics  of  love  and  service  taught  by  Chris- 
tianity at  its  purest.  Now,  moral  ideals  be- 
come effective  beliefs  in  society  in  proportion 
as  they  appear  to  have  absolute  validity,  and 
this  implies,  we  have  seen,  a  religious  sanc- 
tion. The  divorce  of  morality  from  religion 
is  fatal  to  the  social  utility  of  either.  Moral 
and  social  ideals  need  a  socialized  religion,  a 
humanitarian  ethics  a  religion  of  humanity, 
which  will  make  the  service  of  man  the  highest 
religious  act. 

Now,  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  not 
all  at  the  present  time  who  see  the  need  of  a 
humanitarian  ethics  see  equally  the  need  of  a 
religion  of  the  service  of  man;  and,  moreover, 
that  Christianity  at  its  purest  is  such  a  reli- 
gion. Comte  might  be  excused  from  failing 
to  see  in  Christianity  the  religion  of  humanity 
which  he  believed  necessary  for  the  solution 
of  the  social  question,  because  the  only  Chris- 
tianity which  he  knew  was  that  of  ecclesias- 
tical forms,  narrow  and  unadapted  to  the 

requirements  of  modern  life.    To  a  large  ex- 

212 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

tent  this  is  perhaps  still  true  of  the  organized 
Christianity  of  the  world.  Much  still  has  to 
be  done  to  secure  a  religion,  even  in  Western 
civilization,  adapted  to  the  requirements  of 
our  social  life.  The  Church,  therefore,  has 
largely  lost  its  hold  both  of  the  masses  and  of 
the  thinking  classes.  But  a  purer,  a  human- 
ized, a  socialized  Christianity  has  been  gradu- 
ally rising  among  the  leading  nations  of 
Europe  and  America,  which  does  seek  to  meet 
the  social  needs  of  the  hour.  This  new  Chris- 
tianity lays  aside  theological  disputation  and 
devotes  itself  to  the  practical  application  of 
humanitarian  ethics  to  everyday  living.  Now, 
it  is  much  easier  to  reform  and  revitalize  an 
existing  religion  than  to  create  a  new  one. 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  even  from  a 
strictly  scientific  point  of  view,  there  is  need 
of  a  revaluation  of  Christianity  by  those 
interested  in  the  solution  of  the  social  problem. 
It  deserves  seriously  to  be  tried  before  it  is 
cast  aside.  Certainly  we  must  have  a  re- 
demptive religion  if  we  are  to  have  a  fully 

socialized    ethics — one    which    is    equal    to 

213 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

"bridging    the    gulfs"    in    existing    human- 
ity.71 

One  way  to  bridge  the  gulf  between  the 
vicious  and  the  good  in  society  must  now  be 
apparent  and  in  the  writer's  opinion  it  is  the 
way  of  the  greatest  practical  importance;  and 
that  is,  to  use  the  proper  ethical  ideals  to 
control  the  development  of  conduct  and  char- 
acter in  the  young.  In  other  words,  the  proper 
moral  and  social  values  must  be  given  the 
young  through  some  system  of  moral  educa- 
tion. Too  long  in  America  we  have  assumed 
that  moral  and  social  education  may  be  left 
to  take  care  of  itself,  without  any  specific 
provision  for  it  in  our  educational  curricula. 
But  it  must  now  be  evident  to  all  thoughtful 
minds  that  one  reason  for  the  existing  confu- 

71  Professor  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  of  Mansfield  College, 
Oxford  (to  whom  the  writer  is  indebted  for  many 
suggestions),  has  pointed  out  that  the  eminent  Jewish 
scholar,  Mr.  C.  G.  Montefiore,  in  his  Religious  Teaching 
of  Jesus  (pp.  57f.)  has  cordially  recognized  that  the 
"redemptive  note"  of  Christianity  is  its  "new  idea" 
and  strongest  trait. 

214 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

sion  in  regard  to  moral  and  social  values  in 
our  civilization,  is  that  we  have  entered  upon 
no  deliberate  policy  of  conserving  them. 

Moral  education  is  usually  claimed  to  be- 
long especially  to  the  Church  and  the  home; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  institu- 
tions are  best  fitted  to  impress  moral  values 
upon  the  child.  The  Church  especially,  as  the 
organized  embodiment  of  the  religious  life  of 
the  people,  ought  to  be  the  public  conservator 
and  propagator  of  ideal  social  values.  While 
its  function  may  rightly  be  conceived  as  that 
of  being  "the  spiritual  power"  in  society,  its 
practical  task  in  the  present  age  must  be 
spiritual  leadership;  and  that  means  that  it 
must  become  largely  an  educational  institu- 
tion. It  ought  to  be  in  the  best  sense  "an 
ethical  culture  society/'  a  society  where  the 
highest  ethical  culture  is  given  to  all  who 
come  within  its  influence. 

Unfortunately,  however,  as  we  have  seen, 
large  masses  of  the  people  are  outside  of  any 
church;  and  even  if  the  Church  as  a  whole 

could  be  reawakened  to  the  full  meaning  of 

215 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

its  great  mission  in  society,  and  the  often 
petty  divisions  within  itself  healed,  yet  it 
would  still  probably  be  some  time  before  all  in 
Western  nations  alone  could  be  effectively 
brought  under  its  influence.  Therefore,  the 
burden  of  imparting  the  minimum  moral 
education  needed  must  be  placed  upon  the 
public  school  system.  Moral  education  is, 
indeed,  an  essential  part  of  all  education,  and 
this  has  usually  been  recognized  by  the  best 
teachers  in  our  schools.  The  trouble  is  that 
the  standards  of  moral  education  in  our  schools 
have  been  too  low  to  be  adequate  for  social 
needs;  that  too  much  has  been  trusted  to  the 
influence  of  mere  example,  and  too  little  to 
the  explicit  inculcation  of  moral  ideals.  In 
America  there  has  been  a  strange,  irrational 
fear  lest  explicit  instruction  in  the  higher 
ethical  ideals  be  considered  religious  teaching; 
while  in  Europe,  where  the  instruction  in 
morals  has  usually  been  entrusted  to  the  rep- 
resentatives of  various  denominations,  sec- 
tarian differences  have  been  often  emphasized, 

and  thus  the  larger  issues  in  morality  have 

216 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

been  obscured.  The  net  result  has  been  that 
very  little  of  the  higher  morality  needed  to 
meet  the  problems  of  our  complex  civilization 
has  been  taught  in  the  public  school  systems 
of  either  America  or  Europe. 

Now,  the  character  of  the  child,  like  that 
of  civilization  itself,  develops  about  certain 
"psychic  dominants,"  that  is,  about  certain 
ruling  ideas  and  values.  What  dominant 
moral  ideas,  then,  can  be  safely  taught  to  the 
child  in  the  school,  without  trenching  upon 
the  ground  of  sectarian  religion,  in  order  to 
control  the  development  of  his  impulses  and 
habits,  or  character?  What,  in  other  words, 
must  be  the  moral  ideas  which  Western  civili- 
zation must  conserve,  must  build  itself  upon,  if 
it  is  to  survive  and  become  world-wide?  First 
of  all,  there  is  the  idea  of  Humanity  and  its 
common  life,  as  above  that  of  any  nation, 
race  or  class.  Closely  related  with  it  is  the 
idea  of  human  brotherhood,  as  embracing  all 
men,  whatever  their  condition.  Then  the  idea 
of  the  service  of  humanity,  or  social  service, 

especially  on  the  part  of  the  stronger  nations, 

217 


THE   SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

races,  classes,  and  individuals,  toward  the 
weaker.  Then  the  coordinate  ideas  of  self- 
development  and  self-sacrifice,  not  as  ends 
in  themselves  but  for  the  sake  of  the  service 
of  humanity.  Then  such  ideas  as  justice, 
peace,  and  goodwill,  not  simply  between 
man  and  man,  but  between  races,  nations,  and 
classes.  Finally  the  whole  list  of  social  vir- 
tues which  make  possible  the  family,  the 
State,  and  the  whole  harmonious  living  to- 
gether of  men  in  groups,  which  has  made 
possible  human  civilization. 

Without  attempting  any  exhaustive  enu- 
meration of  the  moral  ideas,  is  it  not  evident 
that  civilization  must  conserve  these  spiritual 
values  if  it  is  to  survive?  Is  there  any  reason 
why  these  higher  social  values  should  not  be 
taught  the  child  in  the  school?  If  it  be  said 
that  they  should  not  be  taught  dogmatically, 
then  the  reply  is  that  through  the  events  of 
daily  life,  through  human  history,  through 
parables,  they  can  be  taught,  as  it  were,  in- 
ductively. No  sane  man  can  doubt  that  if 

218 


IDEAL    ELEMENTS 

such  humanitarian  ideals  were  taught  in  our 
schools,  if  they  were  reenforced  by  a  humani- 
tarian religion  preached  in  our  churches,  and 
by  a  humanitarian  science  and  philosophy 
taught  in  our  universities,  if,  in  short,  they 
were  the  "psychic  dominants"  of  our  civiliza- 
tion, then  in  one  generation  our  whole  social 
life  would  be  completely  changed.  We  should 
have  a  new  earth,  and  so  a  new  heaven. 


219 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

r  I^HE  solution  of  the  social  problem  re- 
quires neither  superhuman  intelligence 
nor  superhuman  character.  Neither  god- 
like minds  nor  angelic  dispositions  are  neces- 
sary for  right  human  living  together.  A  satis- 
factory adjustment  of  the  relations  of  individ- 
uals, classes,  nations,  and  even  races  is  by  no 
means  beyond  the  powers  of  humanity.  This 
does  not  mean,  however,  on  the  one  hand, 
that  much  accumulation  of  knowledge,  both 
of  human  nature  and  of  human  society,  is 
not  still  necessary  before  this  greatest  task 
of  civilization  can  be  achieved;  nor  does  it 
mean  that  the  present  character  of  the  mass 
of  individuals  will  not  have  to  be  radically 
modified  before  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
human  problem  can  be  reached. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  permanent  solution 

of  the  social  problem  possible.     In  a  world 

220 


THE    SOLUTION 

of  change,  each  age  is  necessarily  confronted 
by  new  problems  which  it  alone  can  solve. 
Our  quest  must  not  be  for  a  static  solution, 
but  for  principles  which  may  guide  us  in 
seeking  some  rational  control  over  the  relations 
of  men  to  one  another.  Now,  as  we  have 
already  seen  in  the  preceding  chapters,  such 
principles,  even  in  the  present  state  of  the 
social  sciences,  are  by  no  means  wanting.  If 
we  applied  even  our  present  available  knowl- 
edge we  could  soon  have  a  very  much  better 
human  world.  The  truth  is  that  we  have  not 
yet  become  seriously  interested  in  the  social 
problem.  We  have  been  so  interested  in  the 
conquest  of  nature  and  in  individual  achieve- 
ment, that  the  problems  of  human  relation- 
ships have  not  greatly  concerned  us;  our 
civilization,  as  we  have  previously  insisted, 
has  had  hitherto  a  strong  materialistic  and 
individualistic  bias.  This  is  shown  by  our 
educational  system,  where  no  adequate  recog- 
nition has  yet  been  given  to  social  studies  in 
the  curriculum,  but  much  attention  to  the 

physical  sciences  and  to  self-culture  studies. 

221 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

If  we  would  take  as  seriously  the  solution  of 
the  social  problem  as  the  conquest  of  nature, 
wonders  might  be  accomplished  even  in  a 
single  generation. 

No  external  machinery  of  social  organiza- 
tion can  possibly  solve  the  problem.  The 
desire  to  solve  it  in  this  way  is  popular  to-day 
because  it  seems  the  easiest  way  and  because 
it  spares  us  raising  bothersome  questions  con- 
cerning individual  intelligence  and  character. 
But  we  have  seen  that  society  is  at  bottom  the 
inter-mental  life  of  individuals;  that  it  is  the 
overlapping  of  selves;  and  that  while  external 
forms  of  organization  are  important,  they  do 
not  go  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  This  is  the 
common  mistake  made  by  many  socialists, 
pacifists,  feminists  and  others.  That  external 
social  machinery  will  save,  is  one  of  the 
sweetest  delusions  cherished  by  man  in  all 
ages  in  every  department  of  social  life — in 
religion,  in  morals,  in  government,  in  educa- 
tion, even  in  international  relationships. 

The  present  European  war  is  a  sad  illustra- 


THE    SOLUTION 

tion  of  the  failure  of  social  machinery,  useful 
as  it  may  be  in  its  proper  place.  Plenty  of 
admirable  arrangements  existed  in  Europe  to 
prevent  such  a  war.  There  were  the  Hague 
Conventions  and  the  International  Arbitra- 
tion Court;  but  they  did  not  prevent  the  war. 
The  plain  truth  is  that  the  moral  level  of 
European  civilization  was  not  high  enough 
to  make  proper  use  of  such  "machinery." 
Even  now  people  still  talk  hopefully  of  ma- 
chinery which  will  prevent  such  a  war  in  the 
future,  such  as  a  federation  of  European 
nations,  an  international  police  force,  or 
universal  disarmament.  But  they  forget  that 
as  long  as  people  cultivate  the  spirit  of  hatred 
they  cannot  be  kept  from  fighting.  Nothing, 
for  example,  can  prevent  a  war  throughout 
Western  civilization  between  the  possessors 
and  the  dispossessed — a  war  infinitely  more 
horrible  than  the  present  one — nothing  except 
the  dominance  in  the  mass  of  individuals, 
or  at  least  in  the  leaders  of  both  classes,  of 
intelligence  and  of  the  ideals  of  peace  and  of 
human  brotherhood.  As  a  recent  American 

223 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

periodical  has  well  said,  "In  the  long  run  there 
can  be  no  peace  so  long  as  individuals  put  their 
lives  at  the  disposal  of  any  kind  of  leader  who 
waves  a  flag  of  any  kind.  So  long  as  nations 
are  unreasoning  mobs  the  moment  the  trumpet 
sounds,  it  is  idle  to  depose  military  castes; 
others  will  promptly  form  and  in  their  turn 
prevail."  No  social  machinery  can  be  de- 
vised, then,  which  can,  independent  of  in- 
dividual judgment  and  character,  save  society 
from  the  most  awful  catastrophes,  to  say 
nothing  of  solving  the  social  problem.72 

Nor  can  the  social  problem  be  solved  by 
paying  attention  to  but  one  aspect  of  man's 
social  life,  to  but  one  line  of  facts.  All  that 

72  This  must  not  be  taken  to  mean  the  condemnation 
of  wise  attempts  to  set  up  machinery  to  prevent  inter- 
national wars  and  all  other  social  catastrophes.  On 
the  contrary,  the  social  life  of  man  can  express  itself 
effectively  only  through  organization.  We  should  have 
a  swper-national  tribunal,  and  a  federation  of  the  world, 
or  at  least  a  "peace  league"  just  as  soon  as  possible. 
Only  we  should  not  imagine  that  these  can  possibly 
work  without  the  development  of  suitable  moral  ideals 
in  our  civilization  for  their  foundation. 

224 


THE    SOLUTION 

we  have  written  has  been  an  argument  to 
show  the  dangerousness  and  inadequacy  of 
one-sided  views  and  one-sided  movements  in 
society.  The  eugenists,  for  example,  see  the 
central  place  of  individual  character  in  the 
social  life,  but  many  of  them  pay  attention  to 
only  one  line  of  facts  connected  with  charac- 
ter, namely,  the  facts  of  heredity.  The  eco- 
nomic thinkers  and  historians  see  the  impor- 
tance of  economic  facts,  but  many  of  them  for- 
get the  equal  importance  of  religion  and  moral 
ideals.  Religious  teachers  see  the  vital  im- 
portance for  higher  civilization  of  right  reli- 
gious and  ethical  ideas  and  ideals,  but  in  the 
past  they  have  generally  overlooked  the  great 
influence  of  the  industrial  system  and  the 
general  social  order  upon  the  lives  of  men. 
Political  scientists  emphasize  the  importance 
of  governmental  and  social  organization,  and 
often  quite  forget  the  other  factors  which 
mould  individual  character.78 

Now,  we  must  get  rid  of  these  one-sided 

73  Compare  Chapter  XVIII  in  the  writer's  Sociology 
in  Its  Psychological  Aspects. 

225 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

ideas  and  ideals  if  we  are  to  have  true  progress 
in  our  social  life;  for  they  all  breed  dangerous 
negative  attitudes  toward  other  elements  of 
value  in  our  civilization.  We  must  replace 
them  by  a  synthetic  view  of  our  social  life. 
We  must  see  that  human  nature  and  human 
society  are  functions  of  many  variables;  and 
that  for  any  effective  control  over  either  at- 
tention must  be  paid  to  all  factors  of  impor- 
tance. We  shall  not  succeed  in  straightening 
out  our  social  life  by  straightening  out  simply 
our  economic  system,  or  our  government,  or 
our  religion,  or  our  sanitary  conditions;  nor 
shall  we  succeed  by  paying  attention  merely 
to  one  of  these  at  a  time;  for  the  social  life  is 
a  unity.  For  a  well-balanced  social  progress, 
therefore,  we  need  a  synthesis  of  social  move- 
ments as  well  as  of  social  theories.  But  we 
need  the  synthetic  view  first  as  an  instrument 
for  well-rounded  social  development.  A  social 
philosophy  of  some  sort  must  guide  any  highly 
conscious  social  movement.  If  social  work 
and  social  legislation  are  not  to  be  mere  dab- 
bling with  superficial  aspects  of  the  social 

226 


THE    SOLUTION 

problem,  they  must  be  based  upon  a  scien- 
tific study  of  the  whole  of  our  social  life. 

Finally,  the  social  problem  cannot  be  solved 
by  any  sudden  or  revolutionary  change.  This 
is,  indeed,  but  a  corollary  easily  deduced  from 
the  inadequacy  of  external  or  partial  changes 
in  the  social  life.  If  by  "revolution"  we  mean 
simply  sudden  social  change  of  any  sort,  then 
both  history  and  psychology  show  that  such 
a  method  rarely  produces  profound  or  lasting 
change  for  the  better  in  the  character  of  in- 
dividuals or  of  nations.  The  socially  better  is 
built  up  only  through  raising  the  whole  level 
of  knowledge,  of  ideas,  of  values  in  a  social 
group;  and  this  as  a  rule  can  be  done  only 
gradually.  Hence  when  certain  sudden  social 
transitions  in  history  are  carefully  studied, 
they  are  found  to  have  been  long  in  prepara- 
tion. It  is  only  survivals  of  institutions  long 
outgrown  which  can  be  quickly  got  rid  of. 
Habits  are  changed  in  masses  of  men  only  by 
changing  the  opinions,  values  and  habits  of 

the  individuals  who  make  up  the  mass;  and 

237 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

this  generally  necessitates  that  mental  atti- 
tudes be  changed  in  the  young,  through  con- 
trolling in  them  the  development  of  habits  and 
ideals,  that  is,  through  education. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  mean  by  "revolu- 
tion" the  violent  seizure  by  a  non-ruling  class 
of  the  power  held  by  a  ruling  class,  then  his- 
tory shows  the  inadequacy  of  this  method  to 
solve  the  social  problem.  Even  in  a  political 
sense  it  is  a  desirable  method  of  change  only 
when  the  ruling  class  is  hopelessly  out  of 
adjustment  with  its  group,  when  its  power  is 
a  mere  survival,  blocking  the  path  of  progress. 
But  as  a  general  method  of  social  reconstruc- 
tion or  reformation,  it  is  hopelessly  inadequate, 
not  only  because  it  is  relatively  external,  but 
chiefly  because  it  stimulates  so  frightfully  the 
forces  which  make  for  social  disorder.  The 
violent  seizure  of  power  by  one  class  to  ac- 
complish its  ends  can  rarely  take  place  without 
bloody  conflicts  with  other  classes.  As  we 
have  already  pointed  out,  the  primitive  animal 
instincts  of  man,  which  civilization  controls 

with  such  difficulty,  are  thus  released.     The 

228 


THE    SOLUTION 

question  how  far  violence  can  be  successfully 
employed  in  the  higher  stages  of  civilization, 
without  defeating  the  ends  for  which  it  is 
employed,  becomes,  therefore,  the  question  at 
issue  in  the  doctrine  of  "social  evolution 
through  revolution." 

So  far  as  social  science  can  throw  light  upon 
this  question,  it  would  seem  that  there  are 
distinct  limits  upon  the  use  of  force  in  human 
society,  and  that  in  the  higher  stages  of  civi- 
lization the  use  of  violence  is  a  process  of  re- 
barbarization.  It  is  absolutely  destructive 
of  the  higher  social  values  which  the  civilizing 
process  has  so  painfully  built  up,  and  by 
which  men  have  slowly  learned  to  regulate 
their  conduct.  It  is  a  reversion,  in  fine,  to  the 
rule  of  mere  force,  which  is  the  essence  of 
barbarism.  If  long  persisted  in,  it  must  re- 
sult in  the  total  destruction  of  anything 
worthy  to  be  called  civilization.  The  use  of 
violence,  then,  in  the  higher  forms  of  human 
association,  must  defeat  the  very  ends  for 
which  it  might  seemingly  be  rationally  em- 
ployed. ^  And  if  this  is  true  in  the  family  of 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

nations,  it  applies  with  ten-fold  force  to  the 
relations  of  individuals  and  classes  within  the 
nation.  All  that  can  be  said  in  condemna- 
tion of  war  in  general,  can  be  said  with  even 
greater  emphasis  against  civil  wars. 

"But,"  it  may  be  said,  "you  have  yourself 
shown  that  the  method  of  social  change  by 
revolution  is  inevitable  if  more  normal  meth- 
ods of  change  fail.  Why  do  you,  therefore, 
condemn  it?"  74 

The  reply  is  that  revolution  is  not  a  normal 
method  of  social  change;  that  it  marks  the 
breakdown  of  the  normal  means  of  social 
development;  that  it  is  not  inevitable,  but 
may  easily  be  avoided  by  plasticity  in  social 
institutions  and  in  the  mental  attitudes  of 
classes  and  individuals;  and  finally,  that  it  is 
the  business  of  social  science  to  show  "a  more 
excellent  way,"  since  this  pathological  method 
of  social  change  is  so  apt  to  be  destructive  of 
all  the  higher  achievements  of  civilization. 
Particularly  is  revolution  inexcusable  in  mod- 
ern democratic  societies.  There  government 

74  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspectsy  pp.  163-72. 
230 


THE    SOLUTION 

is  supposed  to  be  the  will  of  all  the  people  and 
the  governing  class  the  servants  of  the  people. 
If  the  governing  class  will  keep  in  touch  with 
the  needs  of  all  classes;  if  those  in  authority 
in  law,  in  industry,  in  education,  in  religion  will 
seek  first  the  public  good;  if  all  classes  will 
seek  to  keep  open  the  means  of  understanding 
and  sympathy  with  all  other  classes,  there 
will  be  no  more  need  of  revolution  as  a  means 
of  social  progress  than  there  is  of  children's 
diseases  in  individual  development.  We  would 
emphasize,  however,  that  the  responsibility 
for  avoiding  revolution  rests  especially  upon 
the  socially  dominant  classes.  If  they  will 
keep  free  public  criticism  and  discussion, 
thought  and  speech,  and  all  the  means  of 
forming  rational  public  opinion  and  of  select- 
ing authorities  to  carry  out  the  same,  there 
will  be  little  or  no  danger  of  revolution  being 
resorted  to  in  any  social  group. 

So  our  hope  of  solving  the  social  problem 
must  be  not  through  revolution,  external 
machinery,  or  one-sided  reforms,  but  through 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

the  education  of  the  young,  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  "subjective  environment"  of 
ideals  and  values  in  society,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  a  well-balanced  programme  of  social 
progress.  The  development  of  a  fuller  social 
intelligence  and  social  character  in  the  in- 
dividual is  the  heart  of  our  problem.  Prac- 
tically it  becomes,  therefore,  largely  the  prob- 
lem of  social  leadership  and  social  education. 
Social  machinery  and  even  social  "mutations'* 
may  assist,  but  they  are  powerless  without 
the  inner,  spiritual  transformation  of  our 
social  life,  since  that  life  consists  in  the  mental 
attitudes  which  individuals  maintain  toward 
one  another. 

Now,  this  confession  that  individual  charac- 
ter— including  in  that  phrase  the  whole  active 
nature  of  the  individual,  his  impulses,  his 
habits,  his  intelligence,  his  values  and  ideals- 
lies  at  the  root  of  the  social  problem  is  scouted 
by  many  of  the  social  thinkers  of  our  age;  for 
they  suppose  that  such  a  confession  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  confession  that  the  social  problem, 

in  any  or  all  of  its  aspects,  is  insoluble.    They 

232 


THE    SOLUTION 

say,  "  How  can  the  development  of  individual 
character  be  controlled  in  so  many  millions? 
We  might  as  well  give  up  the  task  before  we 
attempt  it." 

The  reply  is  that  science  has  now  shown  us 
the  roots  of  character  in  the  individual,  and 
how  it  may  be  controlled  in  its  development. 
Scientific  analysis  shows  that  there  are  three 
chief  roots  of  individual  character  of  which 
we  have  need  to  take  account  in  our  efforts 
to  solve  the  social  problem.  These  roots  are 
heredity,  the  general  social  environment,  and 
personal  education.  In  one  way  or  another 
we  have  already  considered  all  of  these  in 
their  bearing  upon  the  social  problem  of  the 
present;  but  let  us  again  briefly  review 
them. 

The  child  must  have  a  right  start  in  life, 
a  normal  physical  heredity,  if  he  is  to  develop 
a  normal  character  and  function  properly  in 
his  relations  as  an  individual  with  other  in- 
dividuals. His  environment  may  be  in  every 

respect  favourable,  his  opportunities  for  per- 

233 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

sonal  education  all  that  can  be  desired,  and 
yet  if  he  is  born  with  a  defective  brain,  he  will 
probably  fall  into  the  socially  depressed 
classes,  or  at  least  behave  abnormally  in  his 
social  relationships.  Heredity  is  one  root  of 
individual  character,  and  for  this  reason  there 
is  need  of  a  rational  eugenics  programme  in 
society,  as  we  have  seen. 

The  mass  of  individuals  are,  however,  born 
relatively  normal,  and  their  character  is 
largely  determined  by  the  pressure  of  the  gen- 
eral social  environment  and  by  their  personal 
education.  There  is  no  doubt  that  institutions 
determine  individual  character  within  cer- 
tain limits.  This  we  can  readily  see  if  we  will 
observe  the  effect  of  the  economic  system 
under  which  we  live  upon  ourselves.  Our 
character  is  largely  influenced  by  our  occupa- 
tions, and  for  the  mass  of  individuals  occupa- 
tion is  as  frequently  a  matter  of  necessity  as 
of  free  choice.  An  individual  of  normal  nat- 
ural endowments  and  perhaps  above  the 

average  in  education  in  our  present  society 

234 


THE    SOLUTION 

may  easily  find  himself  in  an  economic  situa- 
tion in  which  he  becomes  without  work,  de- 
pendent, and  finally  practically  forced  into 
vice  and  crime.  A  just  economic  order  in 
which  people  can  live  and  work  is  evidently  an 
indispensable  condition  for  the  normal  de- 
velopment of  individual  character.  Bad  social 
machinery  or  organization,  in  other  words, 
can  easily  hamper  the  development  or  expres- 
sion of  good  character. 

Another  illustration  of  the  effect  of  the 
social  environment  upon  individual  character 
is  seen  in  the  pressure  of  social  standards, 
ideals,  and  values.  This  "subjective  environ- 
ment" of  the  individual,  consisting  largely  of 
what  is  known  as  "social  tradition,"  plays 
such  a  large  part  in  the  formation  of  character 
that  many  would  make  it  outweigh  all  other 
factors.  A  "social  atmosphere "  in  which  there 
are  the  proper  ideals  and  standards  is,  at 
least,  as  necessary  for  the  normal  moral  de- 
velopment of  the  individual  as  is  a  physical 
atmosphere  of  a  certain  chemical  composition 

for  his  physical  development.    If  it  does  not 

235 


determine  the  proper  development  of  in- 
dividual character,  it  is,  at  any  rate,  an  in- 
dispensable condition  for  it.  It  is,  moreover, 
an  active  agent  in  furthering  development  in 
certain  directions.  No  one  can  live  in  an 
atmosphere  of  hate,  egoism,  or  vice  without 
absorbing  some  of  those  qualities;  and  the 
opposite  is  equally  true.  We  need,  therefore, 
an  atmosphere  of  love,  of  goodwill,  of  mutual 
service  between  individuals,  classes,  and  na- 
tions if  we  are  going  to  solve  the  social  prob- 
lem. 

The  power  of  the  "subjective  environment," 
or  "social  atmosphere,"  is  especially  seen  in 
the  influence  of  the  socially  negative  doc- 
trines which  prevail  in  Western  civilization. 
It  is  doubtful  if  the  present  European  war 
would  have  taken  place,  if  the  predatory  tra- 
dition, the  doctrine  of  the  spoliation  of  one's 
competitors  as  the  surest  means  of  advancing 
one's  self,  had  not  such  a  hold  on  Western 
nations.  Again,  it  is  well  known  that  egoistic, 
laissez  faire,  and  contract  theories  of  society 

have  had  a  profound  influence  upon  legisla- 

236 


THE    SOLUTION 

tion  and  even  upon  intimate  personal  rela- 
tions, such  as  the  family  life.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  social  atmosphere  surcharged  with 
such  social  theories  and  doctrines  as  those  of 
social  obligation,  social  responsibility  and 
social  service  might  make  all  the  difference 
in  the  world  in  individual  character  and  in 
social  life.  We  should  see  by  this  time,  at 
any  rate,  the  futility  of  holding  up  self-interest 
as  a  guide  in  the  social  life,  and  then  hoping 
to  solve  the  social  problem  by  striking  a  bal- 
ance between  egoisms,  whether  of  individuals 
or  groups. 

We  must  conclude,  then,  that  the  general 
social  environment  or  organization  has  a 
great  influence  upon  the  development  and 
expression  of  individual  character,  and  that 
this  is  particularly  true  of  the  industrial  sys- 
tem and  of  socially  prevalent  doctrines,  stan- 
dards, and  values.  It  is  hard,  indeed,  to  dis- 
tinguish the  effects  of  personal  education 
from  the  effects  of  the  latter.  Still  it  is  con- 
venient to  do  so,  for  personal  education  is 

brought  about  by  the  still  narrower,  artificial 

237 


THE    SOCIAL    PROBLEM 

environment  of  the  home  and  the  school.  Its 
influence,  moreover,  upon  the  formation  of 
habit,  opinions,  and  ideals — of  the  whole 
character — of  the  young,  growing  individual 
is  so  tremendous  that  it  demands  separate 
consideration.  For  it  is  probably  the  easiest 
way  of  attempting  the  control  of  heredity  and 
of  the  social  environment.  The  general  social 
organization  may  be  on  a  high  level  and  a 
man's  heredity  normal,  but  if  his  personal 
education  has  been  neglected  or  vicious,  he 
will  probably  be  a  dangerous  member  of  so- 
ciety. On  the  other  hand,  though  the  social 
life  may  be  far  from  what  it  ought  to  be,  if  a 
man  can  be  given  through  personal  education 
the  proper  ideas  and  ideals  he  may  prove  a 
savior  of  his  group. 

Now  let  us  illustrate  how  this  control  of 
heredity,  of  social  environment,  and  of  edu- 
cation will  work  toward  the  solution  of  the 
social  problem.  Let  us  take  one  simple,  but 
profound  aspect  of  that  problem — namely, 

crime.    Scientific  research  has  shown  beyond 

238 


THE    SOLUTION 

question  that  a  part  of  the  criminal  class  are 
hereditary  defectives,  and  that  their  criminal- 
ity is  due  predominantly  to  this  fact.  Another 
part  of  the  criminal  class  seem  to  be  normal 
individuals,  but  are  victims  of  their  social 
environment:  the  industrial  system  or  the 
vicious  standards  of  their  groups,  as  e.  g., 
the  drink  habit,  have  played  the  main  part 
in  their  downfall.  Finally,  in  a  part  of  the 
criminal  class  neglected  or  vicious  education  in 
the  home  and  the  school  seem  to  be  respon- 
sible for  their  condition.  Now,  if  industrial 
organization  were  perfectly  just  and  the  social 
atmosphere  all  that  it  should  be,  we  should 
still  be  very  far  from  eliminating  crime,  if 
we  did  not  control  the  factor  of  hereditary  de- 
fectiveness;  and  so,  conditions  being  changed, 
with  the  other  factors.  If  on  the  other 
hand,  we  could  properly  control  heredity, 
the  social  environment,  and  personal  education 
we  could  eliminate  all  crime  in  society,  ex- 
cept the  small  amount  due  to  accident.  The 
problem  of  crime  is,  then,  not  insoluble,  and 
the  methods  by  which  its  solution  must  be 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

sought  illustrate  the  ways  in  general  by  which 
the  solution  of  the  social  problem  should  be 
sought. 

Let  us  now  take  a  more  complex  aspect  of 
the  social  question — the  labour  problem.  An 
externally  perfect  economic  organization  of 
society  would  not  solve  this  problem,  for  if 
there  were  still  individuals  lacking  good  judg- 
ment and  character,  there  would  still  be 
exploitation  of  the  weak  by  the  strong.  As 
an  able  financial  writer  has  recently  shown,75 
any  improvement  in  the  economic  status  of 
the  labouring  class  without  a  corresponding 
increase  in  their  intelligence  and  character 
would  result  in  no  permanent  advantage 
to  them.  Sooner  or  later  the  very  fact  that 
they  were  on  a  lower  level  of  potential  social 
efficiency  than  other  classes  would  count 
against  them,  and  they  would  tend  to  be- 
come socially  depressed.  He  argues  that  the 
deepest  interest,  therefore,  of  the  labouring 
class,  as  well  as  of  all  classes  in  society,  is  in 

75  Babson,  The  Future  of  the  Working  Classes,  First 
Section. 

240 


THE    SOLUTION 

increasing  the  social  power  and  efficiency  of 
its  individual  members;  and  that  this  is 
largely  a  matter  of  proper  education.  If  the 
labouring  class  would  aim  at  the  domination 
in  their  interest  of  the  school  system,  rather 
than  at  the  domination  of  the  legal  and  indus- 
trial systems,  they  would  more  certainly 
insure  the  improvement  of  their  social  status 
and  their  domination  of  society  as  a  whole. 
Now,  the  labour  problem  illustrates  the 
complexity  of  the  general  social  problem.  It 
is  usually  assumed,  on  the  one  side  of  the  con- 
troversy, that  all  that  is  needed  for  its  solu- 
tion is  a  juster  industrial  order;  on  the  other 
side,  that  moral  ideals  in  employers  and  em- 
ployees would  suffice  to  solve  the  question. 
But  when  the  problem  is  studied  carefully 
its  solution  is  seen  to  involve,  as  we  have  seen, 
not  only  changes  in  the  educational  system, 
but  radical  changes  in  the  whole  social  and 
industrial  order,  in  social  standards  and  values, 
and  some  control  of  hereditary  defects.  In 
other  words,  we  cannot  control  the  develop- 
ment of  individual  character  without  control 

Ml 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

of  the  social  environment  in  which  the  in- 
dividual lives  as  well  as  of  the  educational 
system.  The  solution  of  the  labour  problem 
requires,  therefore,  like  that  of  the  social 
problem  in  general,  the  proper  control  of  the 
three  roots  of  character,  heredity,  social  en- 
vironment, and  personal  education,  of  all 
classes,  both  employers  and  employees;  nor 
is  this  beyond  the  scope  of  a  practicable  pro- 
gramme. 

But  if  the  control  of  individual  character 
is  the  crux  of  the  social  problem,  granting  that 
that  is  possible,  what  sort  of  character  shall 
we  aim  at?  The  reply  is  that  sociology  and 
psychology  have  demonstrated  that  for  the 
proper  social  adjustment  of  the  individual 
at  least  two  things  are  necessary  in  his  char- 
acter: First,  the  predominance  of  intelligence 
over  mere  impulse  or  instinct;  secondly,  the 
predominance  of  the  altruistic  impulses  over 
the  egoistic  impulses.  In  other  words,  reason 
must  be  made  to  prevail  over  blind  impulse 

and  emotion;  and  altruism,  regard  for  others, 

242 


THE    SOLUTION 

over  the  selfish  tendencies  of  human  nature. 
Now,  human  nature,  as  given  to  us,  is  par- 
ticularly weak  in  both  of  these  points:  it  is 
naturally  impulsive  and  is  apt  to  be  irrational; 
and  its  other-regarding  impulses  are  weaker 
than  its  self-regarding.  The  whole  system  of 
society,  and  especially  of  personal  education, 
must  be  such  as  to  stimulate  the  develop- 
ment of  the  rational  and  altruistic  sides  of 
human  nature,  and  duly  to  repress  mere 
instinct  and  mere  egoism,  if  we  are  to  develop 
a  sufficiently  strong  social  character  in  the 
individual. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  self-regarding 
impulses  and  sentiments  of  the  individual 
should  be  suppressed,  as  some  have  assumed, 
a'thing  which  would  be  both  impossible  and 
undesirable.  It  only  means  that  the  strong, 
self-regarding  impulses  should  be  harnessed, 
as  it  were,  and  controlled  by  the  altruistic 
impulses.  Only  thus  can  we  get  strong  in- 
dividuality. Again,  it  does  not  mean  that 
altruism,  or  humanitarian  sentiment,  is  by 
itself  a  sufficient  guide  in  social  life.  On  the 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

contrary,  unintelligent  altruism  is  as  great  a 
danger  in  society  as  abstract,  dehumanized 
intelligence.  Intelligence  and  altruism  must 
work  together  to  produce  the  fully  socialized 
character.  Practically,  it  may  be  remarked, 
the  principle  of  the  dominance  of  reason  and 
altruism  in  individual  character  means  in 
social  terms  the  dominance  of  science  and  of 
humanitarian  ethics  and  religion  in  society. 
Humanitarian  religion  and  ethics  would  be 
blind  without  science,  but  science  without  such 
a  religion  and  ethics  would  lack  motive  power. 
Now,  Comte  thought  that  if  reason  and 
altruism  could  be  made  to  prevail  in  individual 
character  and  in  social  life,  that  would  be  the 
solution  of  the  social  problem.  The  modern 
spirit  would  perhaps  insist  upon  a  third  thing 
as  equally  necessary,  and  that  is,  efficiency. 
It  may  perhaps  be  justly  urged  that  efficiency 
is  a  product  of  intelligence  and  socialized 
character.  This  may  be  true  of  the  all-round 
efficiency  of  the  citizen;  but  there  are  certain 
sorts  of  efficiency,  that  of  the  expert  in  any 

line  for  instance,  which  could  not  be  produced 

244 


THE    SOLUTION 

by  the  mere  dominance  of  the  intellect  over 
the  instincts  and  of  other-regard  over  self- 
regard.  Special  training  in  special  lines  would 
in  addition  be  required.  Now,  the  function 
of  the  expert  is  steadily  becoming  of  increas- 
ing importance  in  our  social  life;  and  there- 
fore specialized  efficiency  along  many  lines 
may  play  a  great  part  in  the  solution  of  the 
social  problem.  Still,  from  a  general  social 
point  of  view  it  may  reasonably  be  main- 
tained that  intelligence  and  altruistic  char- 
acter in  the  individual  are  more  necessary 
than  specialized  efficiency,  since  all  must  be 
citizens  before  they  are  experts  or  members 
of  any  trade  or  profession,  and  since  over- 
specialization  must  be  avoided  in  order  to 
produce  the  all-round  human  qualities  which 
make  the  good  citizen.  At  any  rate,  if  the 
world  had  taken  seriously  these  ideas  of 
Comte,  it  might  have  been  saved  much  of  its 
present  trouble. 

Finally,  to  perfect  and  make  efficient  our 
social  life  we  need  proper  social  organization. 
Only  through  suitable  organization  can  a 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

society  imbued  with  intelligence  and  altruism 
rightly  express  itself;  and,  indeed,  only  through 
proper  organization  can  intelligence  and  al- 
truism be  developed  in  the  mass  of  individuals. 
If  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  place  our 
faith  in  external  organization  alone  as  ade- 
quate to  solve  the  social  problem,  it  would 
be  equally  a  mistake  to  leave  organization 
out  of  account.  But  the  problem  of  securing 
proper  social  organization  depends  upon  the 
problem  of  securing  trained  "social  experts," 
or  efficient  social  leaders,  which  we  shall  pres- 
ently notice. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  outline 
any  general,  immediately  practicable  social 
programme;  and  so  we  may  now  bring  our 
discussion  of  the  social  problem  of  the  present 
to  a  close  by  noticing  briefly  a  general  objec- 
tion to  our  argument.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
argument  is  a  mere  logical  circle:  "You  have 
said  that  individual  character  is  the  central 
thing  in  the  social  problem,  but  you  have  also 

shown  that  individual  character  is  largely, 

246 


THE    SOLUTION 

if  not  entirely,  produced  by  social  conditions; 
hence  your  argument  is  a  mere  vicious  circle.'* 

The  reply  is  that  there  is  no  logical  circle 
in  the  argument.  The  case  is  one  of  action 
and  reaction  between  the  individual  and  the 
social  environment;  and  the  circle,  so  far  as 
we  find  one,  is  one  of  facts  rather  than  of 
ideas.  Social  life  is  a  constant  action  and  re- 
action in  all  of  its  phases;  and  institutions, 
organization,  and  conditions  no  more  deter- 
mine individuals  than  individuals  determine 
them.  The  nature  of  the  individual  does,  how- 
ever, make  the  human  world;  and  just  because 
of  this  fact  the  social  problem  must  be  mainly 
attacked  through  individual  intelligence  and 
character,  though  the  transformation  of  the 
environment  must  be  made  to  keep  pace  with 
the  transformation  of  character  in  the  mass 
of  individuals,  or  much  good  work  may  be 
undone. 

Moreover,  sociologists  and  psychologists  are 
largely  agreed  that  the  personality  of  the  in- 
dividual is  not  wholly  submerged  in  the  life 

of  his  group.    There  is  a  certain  element  of 

247 


THE    SOCIAL   PROBLEM 

variation,  of  individuality,  of  freedom  in  each 
of  us  which  may  enable  us  to  a  certain  extent 
to  rise  superior  to  our  surroundings.  If  it 
were  not  so,  social  life  would  remain  hard  and 
fixed  until  external  forces  made  changes. 
Now,  this  element  of  variation,  and  of  free- 
dom from  mere  social  determination,  while 
existing  in  all,  is  most  manifest  in  exceptional 
individuals.  These  need  not  necessarily  be 
geniuses,  but  merely  persons  with  capacity 
for  leadership.  It  is  the  acceptance  of  their 
leadership  in  thought  and  action  which  makes 
conscious  progress  in  social  life  possible. 
Without  intellectual  leadership,  especially, 
human  societies  would  show  no  more  capacity 
for  progress  than  animal  groups;  with  trained, 
expert  leadership,  on  the  other  hand,  their 
capacity  for  progress  might  be  increased  many 
fold. 

Practically,  therefore,  the  solution  of  the 
social  problem  depends  upon  the  finding  and 
training  of  social  leaders.  As  Ward  has  dem- 
onstrated, there  is  probably  no  lack  of  in- 
dividuals in  present  society  with  ample  nat- 

248 


THE    SOLUTION 

ural  endowments  for  leadership.  It  is  simply 
a  question  of  finding  and  training  this  ma- 
terial in  our  population.  This  would  seem  to 
be  largely  the  work  of  our  educational  system, 
though  all  the  institutions  concerned  with  the 
higher  life  of  society  should  share  in  this 
function.  Particularly  upon  our  universities 
should  rest  the  heavy  responsibility  of  train- 
ing social  leaders.  Very  few  of  them  have, 
however,  as  yet  taken  this  responsibility 
seriously.  This  is  not  because  of  any  lack  of 
scientific  knowledge,  for  the  sciences  bearing 
upon  human  life  have  advanced  enormously 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  The 
universities  produce  experts  in  law  and  medi- 
cine, in  agriculture  and  engineering,  but  ex- 
perts in  dealing  with  the  problem  of  human 
living  together  very  rarely;  yet  these  experts 
are  the  ones  most  needed  at  the  present  time 
if  Western  civilization  is  not  to  perish  through 
its  failure  to  solve  the  social  problem.  Will 
the  universities  of  the  Western  world  awake 
to  their  responsibilities  of  providing  social 
leadership? 

249 


INDEX 


Adams,  Brooks,  quoted,  1 
Ames,  E.  S.,  quoted,  204 
Anarchy,  social,  26,  86,  85, 

194,  195 
Aristotle,  60 

B 

Babson,  R.  W.,  quoted,  240 

Bakunin,  M.  A.,  quoted,  194 

Barbarism,  reversion  toward 
in  Western  civilization,  29, 
31,  88,  45,  50,  194 

Bartlet,  J.  V.,  quoted,  172, 
214 

Bernhardi,  Friedrich  v., quot- 
ed, 10 

Bertillon,  Dr.  Jacques,  quot- 
ed, 109 

Birth  Rate,  the,  128, 187;  of 
defectives,  122 

Branford,  Victor,  quoted,  114 


Capitalism,  158,  154,  155, 
156;  exploitative,  157;  spec- 
ulative profit,  158,  159, 
160;  class  antagonism,  162; 
antagonism  between  na- 
tions, 162, 168, 164;  fosters 


materialism,  166,  167, 
168,  169;  "will  go  on 
strike,"  181 

Carlyle,  A.  J.,  quoted,  172 

Charles,  R.  H.,  quoted,  53 

Child,  education  of  the,  217, 
288,  289 

Christianity,  24;  in  inter- 
national politics,  28; 
Greek  element  in,  52;  rela- 
tion of  to  Judaism,  53; 
humanitarian  ethics  of,  56, 
57;  and  Western  civiliza- 
tion, 69,  70,  71,  72;  spread 
by  missions,  86;  and  eu- 
genics, 141;  stewardship  of 
wealth,  184;  the  religion  of 
service,  211,  212;  redemp- 
tive, 213 

City  life,  151 

Class  Strife,  9,  43,  81,  82,  83, 
163, 164, 165,  223,  228,  229 

Comtc,  Auguste,  quoted,  212, 
244,245 

Conservation  of  Natural  Re- 
sources, 95, 96 

Cramb,  J.  A.,  quoted,  26 

Cretins,  the,  132 

Crime,  238,  289 

Critical  Movement,  the,  88, 
84 


INDEX 


D 

Darwinism,  66 

Davenport,  W.  E.,  quoted, 
105 

Determinism,  economic,  146, 
147,  149,  151,  152,  191; 
limitations  of,  224;  geo- 
graphic, 93,  148 

Divorce,  increase  of,  23 

E 

Economic   determinism,   see 

Determinism 

Efficiency,  specialized,  224 
Ellwood,  C.  A.,  quoted,  viii, 
1,  16,  32,  33,  84,  105,  113, 
123, 149, 204,  210, 225, 230 
Ely,  R.  T.,  quoted,  79 
English  Common  Law,  65 
Environment,    235 ;    subjec- 
tive, 116,  236 
Epicureanism,  60,  70 
Eugenics,   12,  13,   105,   113, 
114,    134;   limitations   of, 
40,    41,     115,     116,    224; 
negative  aim  of,  120,  125, 
127, 128,  133,  134;  positive 
aim  of,  136,  137,  139,  140; 
relation  of,  to  religion,  142; 
importance    of,    142;    hu- 
manitarianism  of,  143 
European  War,  the,  2,  3,  5, 
6;  economic  rivalry,   163, 
164;    shows    weakness    of 
social  machinery,  222,  223; 
carries  on  old  traditions, 
236 


Fabian  movement  in  Eng- 
land, 187 

Family,  the,  decay  of,  23, 
43;  Hebrew  concepts  based 
upon,  55,  56,  57;  eugenics 
of,  139;  solidarity  of,  177, 
197;  revaluation  of,  196, 
198,  199 

Feeble-minded,  the,  heredity 
of,  111;  birth  rate  of,  122, 
123;  restriction  of  marriage 
among,  125;  sterilization 
of,  129;  segregation  of, 
130;  recessive  characters 
in,  134,  135 

Feminism,  13,  222 

Ferrero,  Guglielmo,  quoted, 
3,  29,  76,  81,  97,  130 

Figgis,  J.  N.,  quoted,  7,  167 

Fisher,  Irving,  quoted,  100 

Freedom,  of  public  criticism, 
discussion,  thought  and 
speech,  231 

Frontier  life,  89 

Galton,  Sir  Francis,  quoted, 
113,  119,  120,  136,  142 

Geographic  determinism,  see 
Determinism 

Giddings,  F.  H.,  quoted,  26, 
88,  207,  208 

G 

Goddard,  H.  H.,  quoted,  111 

Greece,  Ancient,  civilization 

of,  53,  54,  57,  58;  ethics  of, 

59;   artistic   individualism 


252 


INDEX 


of,  59,  60;  philosophy  of, 
62,  63;  corruption  of,  61, 
66;  influence  of,  through 
the  Renaissance,  73,  78 


Hague  Convention,  223 
Hebrew  ethics  and  religion, 
conquest  of  Western  world 
by,  51,  52,  53;  high  de- 
velopment of,  54;  patri- 
archal foundation  of,  55; 
humanitarianism  of,  56, 
57,  58;  expansion  of,  into 
Christianity,  69,  70;  con- 
flict of,  with  Greek  philos- 
ophy, 71,  72,  73;  eugenic 
character  of,  142 
Henderson,  C.  R.,  quoted, 

173, 1&4 

Heredity,  105,  106;  control 
of,  12, 18,40,  102, 103,113, 
117,  143,  144,  233;  Weis- 
mann's  law  of,  107,  108, 
109;  Mendel's  law  of,  IIP, 
111,  112;  over-emphasis  of 
importance  of,  198,  225. 
Hobhouse,  L.  T.,  quoted,  36, 

48,  115,  172 

Hobson,  J.  A.,  quoted,  9 
Howerth,  I.  W.,  quoted,  9 
Humanitarianism,  in  Hebrew 
ethics,  56,  57,  58;  in  18th 
and  19th  centuries,  85,  86; 
in  eugenics  movement,  144; 
in  a  social  religion,   206, 
211,  212,  218, 219, 243 


Hyper-nationalism,  German, 
43,  44;  Jewish,  70 


"Ideaism,"  44 

Immigration,  American,  88, 
89,  129 

Individualism,  in  Western 
civilization,  24,  25,  43,  75, 
76,  90,  209,  210;  in  An- 
cient Greece,  60,  61;  Teu- 
tonic traditions  of,  67,  68, 
72;  harnessing  of,  243 


Johannsen,  W.   L.,  quoted, 
113 


Labour,  industrial  revolu- 
tion, 80;  modern  conditions 
of,  150,  154;  exploitation 
of,  155,  156,  157,  158,  162; 
a  social  problem,  238,  239, 
240;  Exchanges,  174 

Laissez-faire  Individualism, 
147,  187,  202,  203,  236 

Luxury,  increase  of,  82,  98 

M 

McCurdy,  J.  F.,  quoted,  55 

Machiavellian  statecraft,  27, 
65,  163 

Maeterlinck,  Maurice,  quot- 
ed, SO 

Marriage,  23;  eugenic  laws 


253 


INDEX 


of,  125,  126,  127,  128,  133, 
134,  135 

Marx,  Karl,  quoted,  149,  195 
Materialism,  25,  44,  81,  166, 

167,  169,  194,  195 
Mendel's  law,  110,  111,  112 
Militarism,  in  Germany,  27; 
in     Ancient     Rome,     65; 
causes    reversal    of    selec- 
tion, 124 ;  fostered  by  capi- 
talism,  162;  influence  of, 
upon  the  mob,  224 
Minimum  wage,  174 
Montefiore,  C.  G.,quoted,214 
Morality,  political,  28,  29 
Mothers'  Compensation,  137 
Myres,  J.  L.,  55 

N 

National  Vitality,  99, 100 
Negativism,    see     Anarchy, 

social 

New  Agriculture,  the,  97 
Nietzsche,  Friedrich,  quoted, 

26,  27,  60,  85,  194 

O 

Ostwald,  Wilhelm,  quoted, 
164 

P 

Pacifism,  not  only  solution 
of  social  problem,  11,  222, 
223;  importance  of,  224 

Plato,  58,  60 

Poverty,  caused  by  capi- 
talism, 160,  161,  168 


Property,  private,  necessity 

of,  171,  172 

Psychic  Dominants,  217 
Public  Ownership,  170 
Pueblo  Indians,  50 


Reformation,  the,  74 

Renan,  Ernest,  55 

Renaissance,  the,  73,  74,  78 

Revolution,  the  French,  2, 
33,  38,  75,  76;  Chinese,  33; 
Mexican,  33;  danger  of,  33, 
34, 186, 187;  industrial,  79; 
inadequate,  226,  227,  228; 
retrogressive,  229;  not  in- 
evitable, 230 

Rome,  Ancient,  compared  to 
modern  America,  3;  civi- 
lization of,  51,  56,  57;  law 
and  government  of,  63,  64; 
militarism  of,  65,  66,  67; 
influence  of,  through  Re- 
naissance, 73 

Ross,  E.  A.,  quoted,  41 

Rousseau,  J.  J.,  194 

Rowntree,  Seebohm,  quoted, 
184 

Rumelin,  Gustav  v.,  quoted, 
28 

Royce,  Josiah,  197 


Saleeby,  C.  W.,  quoted,  41 
Santayana,  George,  quoted, 
23,  53,  73 


254 


INDEX 


Segregation     of    defectives, 

130,  131 
Seligman,  £.  R.  A.,  quoted, 

180 

Small,  A.  W.,  quoted,  25 
Social  justice,  means  of  fur- 
nishing, 174,  175,  183, 184, 

187 
Social  leadership,  45,  46,  47, 

238,239 

Socialism,  39,  185,  186,  187 
Socrates,  57 
Sophism,  60 
Speculative  profit,  158,  159, 

160 
Spencer,    Herbert,    quoted, 

195 

Sterilization,  130 
Stoicism,  60,  70 
Syndicalism,  85 


Taxation,    scientific    reform 
of,  176,  177,  180 


Thomson,  J.  A.,  106,  107 
Tradition,  36,  48,  49 
Treitschke,     Heinrich     von, 

26 

Tuberculosis,  102 
Turgot,  A.  R.,  34 

W 

Walter,  quoted,  112 
War,  see  European  War,  the 
Ward,  L.  R,  quoted,  146,  204 
Wealth,  distribution  of,  11, 
81,  148,  166,  168;  steward- 
ship   of,    183.      See    also 
Capitalism 

Weismann's  Law,  108,  109 
Whetham,  W.  C.  D.,  quoted, 

122 
Wyatt,  J.,  quoted,  26 


Zimmerman,  A.  E.,  quoted, 
61 


255 


T1 


E  following  pages  contain  advertisements  of 
books  on  kindred  subjects. 


Social  Science  Text-books 

EDITED  BY  RICHARD  T.  ELY,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

Director  of  the  School  of  Economics  and  Political  Sci- 
ence in  the  University  of  Wisconsin ;  author  of  "  Outlines 
of  Political  Economy,"  "  Monopolies  and  Trusts,"  etc. 


"  Social  Science  "  is  here  used  in  the  broad  sense  as  referring  to 
the  various  sciences  Healing  with  social  activities.  Hence,  the  vol- 
umes in  this  series  cover  the  various  fields  of  economics,  political 
science,  and  sociology. 

Scholarly  accuracy,  attractiveness  of  style,  and  particularly  thor- 
ough teachability  characterize  these  volumes  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Ely.  Although  designed  primarily  for  use  as  text- 
books, no  effort  is  spared  to  make  them  attractive  to  the  individual, 
and  suitable  for  small  reading  groups  or  large  reading  circles.  While 
scrupulously  avoiding  discussion  of  matters  still  in  the  controversial 
stage,  which  properly  belong  rather  to  monographical  literature  than 
to  text-books,  each  author  treats  such  new  thought  as  has  thor- 
oughly established  itself  in  his  field. 

Although  a  sufficiently  critical  point  of  view  is  assumed,  wherever 
necessary,  chief  emphasis  is  laid  upon  positive  and  constructive 
thought,  as  it  is  believed  that  books  in  the  field  of  the  social  sci- 
ences ought  to  promote  good  citizenship,  as  well  as  sound  scholar- 
ship. That  new  solutions  for  the  new  problems  of  the  present  day 
are  to  be  found  under  our  existing  forms  of  society,  government,  and 
economic  institutions  is  made  clear.  Hence,  the  books  in  this  series 
will,  it  is  believed,  stimulate  those  who  use  them  to  further  thought 
and  reading,  as  well  as  to  wholesome,  practical  activity. 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  Hew  York 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE  TEXT-BOOKS 
Edited  by  RICHARD  T.  ELY 

The  Progressive  Movement 

By  BENJAMIN  P.  DEWITT,  M.A.  LL.B. 

Cloth,  ismo.,  $1.50 

This  book  meets  the  needs  of  the  general  reader  who 
desires  a  broad,  comprehensive  and  non-partisan  dis- 
cussion of  the  fundamental  principles  underlying  the 
Progressive  Movement.  The  causes  of  the  growth  of 
the  movement  are  first  considered,  and  its  origin  and 
development  in  each  of  the  political  parties  carefully 
traced.  Important  reform  measures  connected  with 
it  in  nation,  state,  and  city,  such  as  control  of  corpora- 
tions, direct  legislation,  mothers'  pensions,  minimum 
wage,  commission  government,  the  city  manager  plan, 
etc.,  are  explained  in  their  relations  to  progressivism 
as  a  whole. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers         64-66  Fifth  Avenue         New  York 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE  TEXT-BOOKS 
EDITED  BY  RICHARD  T.  ELY 

Outlines  of  Economics 

BY  RICHARD  T.  ELY,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Political  Economy  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Revised  and 
enlarged  by  the  Author  and  Thomas  S.  Adams,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Political 
Economy  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin ;  Max  O.  Lorenz,  Ph.D.,  Assistant 
Professor  of  Political  Economy  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin ;  and  Allyn 
A.  Young,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Economics  in  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University. 

Cloth,  8vo,  $2.00 

The  new  edition  of  Professor  Richard  T.  Ely's  "Outlines  of  Eco- 
nomics," which  has  just  been  published,  marks  the  great  advance 
that  has  been  made  in  the  study  of  economics  in  the  last  decade. 
The  new  edition  is  practically  a  new  work,  completely  revised  and 
rewritten  and  about  twice  the  size  of  the  old  book.  In  this  revision 
Professor  Ely  has  had  the  assistance  of  Professors  T.  S.  Adams  and 
Max  O.  Lorenz  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  Professor  A.  A. 
Young  of  Stanford  University.  All  of  these  men  are  experts  in  vari- 
ous departments  of  economics.  Professor  Young  is  an  expert  on 
statistics  and  a  mathematician,  and  has  given  especial  attention  to 
banking  and  insurance.  Professor  Adams  has  been  employed  as  an 
expert  in  United  States  census  work  and  also  as  an  expert  in  taxa- 
tion by  the  Wisconsin  Taxation  Commission.  Professor  Lorenz  is 
Deputy  Labor  Commissioner  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  and  a  spe- 
cialist in  labor  problems. 

In  its  present  form,  Ely's  "  Outlines  of  Economics "  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  comprehensive  discussion  of  the  whole  subject  of  economics 
yet  produced  in  America.  It  has  often  been  remarked  of  the  earlier 
book  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  economic  treatises. 
The  new  edition,  with  its  fuller  discussion  of  many  subjects,  is  even 
more  readable.  The  special  treatment  of  practical  problems  in  eco- 
nomics is  fuller  than  in  any  other  text-book  in  English,  and  such 
subjects  as  the  railway  problem,  forestry,  labor  problems,  and  social- 
ism are  dealt  with  fully.  The  book  is  also  unique  in  the  extent  to 
which  principle  is  illustrated  with  concrete  applications.  In  this 
particular  the  book  may  not  inaptly  be  compared  to  Adam  Smith's 
"^Wealth  of  Nations." 

In  view  of  Professor  Ely's  great  authority  as  an  economist,  the 
expert  assistance  which  he  has  been  able  to  command  and  the  unique 
plan  of  his  book,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this  will  be  accepted  as  one  of 
the  most  important  American  contributions  to  the  science  of  eco- 
nomics. As  such,  it  will  receive  attention  not  only  as  a  text -book, 
but  as  a  work  for  the  general  reader  who  wishes  to  familiarize  him- 
self with  the  whole  field  of  economic  thought. 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE  TEXT-BOOKS 

EDITED  BY  RICHARD  T.  ELY 

Problems  of  Child  Welfare 

BY  GEORGE  B.  MANGOLD,  PH.D. 

Director  of  the  School  of  Social  Economy  of  Washington  University 
Cloth,  8vo,  522  pages,  $2.00 

Presents  the  principles  of  child  welfare  work  in  a  systematic 
way.  With  this  end  in  view  the  author  has  grouped  his  sub- 
ject matter  under  the  following  headings :  The  Conservation  of 
Life;  Care  of  Health  and  Physique;  Educational  Problems; 
Child  Labor ;  Juvenile  Delinquency ;  and  the  Dependent  Child. 
Much  of  the  constructive  philanthropy  of  to-day  must  deal  di- 
rectly with  the  child,  the  improvement  of  his  conditions  being 
the  direct  objective.  Those  problems  which  affect  children  in 
an  indirect  way,  whether  in  the  field  of  remedial  or  preventive 
philanthropy,  are  not  treated.  The  questions  of  child  welfare, 
however,  are  correlated.  Under  each  separate  problem  are  dis- 
cussed the  causes  and  conditions  thereof,  the  machinery  of  so- 
cial betterment,  and  the  plans  and  program  of  improvement. 

Although  the  book  is  designed  especially  for  use  as  a  text  in 
college  courses  on  constructive  and  preventive  philanthropy,  it 
will  also  appeal  to  that  growing  class  of  men  and  women  who 
in  a  systematic  way  are  endeavoring  to  acquaint  themselves 
with  the  various  aspects  of  practical  sociology. 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  Tork 


CITIZENS'  LIBRARY 

OF 

Economics,  Politics  and  Sociology 
EDITED  BY  RICHARD  T.  ELY,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

Of  the  University  of  Wisconsin 

Each  volume  ISmo.  half  leather,  $1.25 

"This  has  already  proven  itself  one  of  the  most  fruitful  among 
the  different  'libraries'  of  the  sort,  in  yielding  stimulating 
books  upon  the  modern  phases  of  economic  and  social 
science." — Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

American  City,  The.    A  Problem  in  Democracy.    By  D.  F.  Wilcox. 
American  Municipal  Progress.    Chapters  in  Municipal  Sociology.    By 

C.  Zueblin.     New  Edition  Preparing. 
Child  Problems.    By  George  B.  Mangold. 
Colonial  Administration.    By  Paul  S.  Reinsch. 
Colonial  Government    By  Paul  S.  Reinsch. 

Commission  Government  in  American  Cities.    By  Ernest  S.  Bradford. 
Democracy  and  Social  Ethics.    By  Jane  Addams. 
Economic  Crises.    By  E.  D.  Jones. 

Education  and  Industrial  Evolution.    By  Frank  Tracy  Carlton. 
Elements  of  Sociology.    By  F.  W.  Blackmar. 

Essays  on  the  Monetary  History  of  the  United  States.   By  C.  J.  Bullock. 
Foundations  of  Sociology.    By  E.  A.  Ross. 
Government  in  Switzerland.    By  John  M.  Vincent. 
Great  Cities  in  America;  Their  Problems  and  Their  Government    By 

Delos  F.  Wilcox. 


CITIZENS'  LIBRARY  OF  ECONOMICS,  POLITICS  AND  SO- 
CIOLOGY (Continued). 

History  of  Political  Parties  in  the  United  States.   By  J.  Macy. 

International  Commercial  Policies.    By  G.  M.  Fisk. 

Introduction  to  Business  Organization.   By  S.  E.  Sparling. 

Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Agricultural  Economics.   By  H.  C.  Taylor. 

Irrigation  Institutions:  A  Discussion  of  the  Growth  of  Irrigated  Agri- 
culture in  the  Arid  West.  By  E.  Mead. 

Money:  A  Study  of  the  Theory  of  the  Medium  of  Exchange.  By  David 
Kinley. 

Monopolies  and  Trusts.   By  R.  T.  Ely. 

Municipal  Engineering  and  Sanitation.    By  M.  N.  Baker. 

Newer  Ideals  of  Peace.    By  Jane  Addams. 

Principles  of  Anthropology  and  Sociology,  The,  in  their  Relations  to 
Criminal  Procedure.  By  M.  Parmelee. 

Progressive  Movement,  The.    By  D.  M.  DeWitt. 

Railway  Legislation  in  the  United  States.   By  B.  H.  Meyer. 

Social  Control:  A  Survey  of  the  Foundation  of  Order.    By  E.  A.  Ross. 

Some  Ethical  Gams  Through  Legislation.    By  Mrs.  Florence  Kelley. 

Spirit  of  American  Government,  The.    By  J.  A.  Smith. 

Studies  in  the  Evolution  of  Industrial  Society.    By  R.  T.  Ely. 

Wage-Earning  Women.    By  Annie  M.  MacLean. 

World  Politics.    By  Paul  S.  Reinsch. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers         64-66  Fifth  Avenue         New  York 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


X    000  833  875    8 


351 

ood,    Charles  A. 
°ccial  Problem. 


-»>nnex. 
1915. 

SCRIPPS  INSTITUTION  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


